UNIVERSITY  Of 
CALIPORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


GEN.  JOSEPH  CILLEY 


COL.  JOSEPH  CILLEY 


LIFE 


OF 


GEN.   JOSEPH    CILLEY 


By  JOHN  SCALES,  A  B.,  A.  M. 


STANDARD  BOOK  COMPANY 

MANCHESTER,  N.  H. 

1921 


OBeneral  3lo$epf)  Olillep 

His  Ancestors 
By  JOHN  SCALES,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

CjflOSEPH  CILLEY,  commonly  known  as  Gen.  Joseph 
II  Cilley,  was  born  in  Nottingham,  N.  H.,  in  1734, 
and  died  in  that  town  August  25,  1799.  He  was 
the  son  of  Capt.  Joseph  Cilley  and  Alice  Rollins  or  Raw- 
Hns,  who  were  married  in  1724-25.  Captain  Cilley  was  born 
in  Hampton  October  6,  1701,  and  died  in  Nottingham  in 
1786.  Alice  (Rawlins)  Cilley  was  born  in  1701  and  died  in 
Nottingham  in  1801,  aged  a  full  hundred  years.  Captain 
Cilley  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Stanyan)  Cilley. 
Ann  Stanyan  was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Brad- 
bury) Stanyan  of  Salisbury,  Mass.  John  Stanyan  was  the 
son  of  Anthony  Stanyan,  who  was  born  in  England  about 
1611  and  came  to  New  England  in  1635  in  "The  Planter." 
He  lived  in  Boston  and  Salisbury.  His  wife's  name  was 
Mary.  Captain  Cilley's  grandmother,  Mary  Bradbury, 
was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Thomas  and  Mary  (Perkins) 
Bradbury  of  Salisbury.  Captain  Bradbury  was  one  of  the 
ablest  men  in  Massachusetts  during  his  period  of  active 
life,  1640-1680. 

General  Cilley  showed  his  love  and  respect  for  this 
ancestor  by  naming  his  eldest  son  Bradbury.  Mary  Per- 
kins (Bradbury)  was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Judith 
Perkins  of  Ipswich,  Mass.  He  was  born  in  England  in 
1590  and  came  over  in  the  ship  "Lyon"  with  Roger  Wil- 
liams in  1631.  He  lived  in  Boston  two  years  and  settled  in 
Ipswich  in  1633.  He  owned  "Perkins  Island"  in  Ipswich 
River.  He  held  various  town  offices  and  was  representative 
in  the  General  Court  in  1636  and  later.  He  died  in  1654. 


£-•  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

So  much  for  the  ancestors  of  General  Cilley  in  lines  other 
than  the  Cilley;  all  first-class  Puritan  stock. 

General  Cilley's  grandfather,  Capt.  Thomas  Cilley 
(Seally),  was  a  sea  captain,  whose  residence  was  at  Hamp- 
ton, N.  H.,  where  his  children  were  born.  Later  in  life  he 
resided  at  Andover  with  his  son  Thomas.  He  died  in 
Nottingham  while  there  on  a  visit  to  his  son,  Capt.  Joseph 
Cilley,  the  date  of  which  is  not  known.  He  appears  to 
have  been  a  successful  sea  captain,  a  good  citizen,  and  not 
given  to  office  holding  or  participating  in  public  affairs. 
He  was  a  gallant  old  sea  dog. 

Richard  Cilley  (Sealy),  his  father,  was  a  magistrate  of 
the  Isles  of  Shoals  for  several  years,  who  finally  removed 
to  Hampton,  where  he  died;  his  wife's  name  is  not  known; 
he  seems  to  have  been  at  the  Shoals  from  1650  to  1660, 
engaged  in  the  fishing  business,  at  which  time  and  long 
after  the  islands  were  a  great  fishing  station. 

He  was  son  of  Captain  Robert  (Seely)  Cilley  of  Water- 
town,  Mass,  who  came  there  from  England  in  1630;  his  wife's 
name  was  Mary  who  had  administration  of  his  estate  Octo- 
ber 19,  1668.  He  had  three  sons,  John,  William  and  Rich- 
ard, whose  residence  for  a  number  of  years  was  on  the 
Isles  of  Shoals,  where  there  was  then  a  large  settlement. 
They  were  all  sea-captains  and  were  men  of  enterprise  in 
various  ways. 

Such  were  the  ancestors  of  Captain  Joseph  Cilley, 
who  with  his  wife  and  family  removed  from  Hampton  to 
Nottingham  about  1727,  and  settled  on  Rattlesnake  Hill, 
so  called,  on  the  south  easterly  side  of  The  Square. 
He  first  erected  a  log  cabin  in  which  he  deposited  his 
household  goods,  all  of  which  effects  of  every  description 
he  brought  with  him  on  the  back  of  one  horse,  himself  and 
family  accompanying  on  foot,  a  distance  of  about  20  miles 
they  had  to  travel,  much  of  the  way  through  forests.  A 
clearing  was  soon  effected,  with  what  preliminary  work  he 
had  done,  and  good  crops  were  raised  the  first  year.  He 
was  industrious,  economical  and  enterprising;  his  means 


HIS    ANCESTORS  "J 

increased  and  in  a  few  years  replaced  the  log  cabin  with  a 
large  frame  house;  a  monument  by  the  road  side,  from 
Nottingham  Square  to  Epping  Corner,  marks  the  spot 
where  his  first  log  house  stood.  He  purchased  other  land; 
built  other  houses;  engaged  in  lumbering  and  farming,  and 
became  noted  for  his  enterprise  and  his  possessions  among 
the  dwellers  in  Nottingham  and  the  towns  around.  He 
earned  his  title  as  Captain  by  service  in  command  of  the 
Provincial  Militia,  having  received  his  commission  from 
Governor  Wentworth.  All  of  his  Cilley  ancestors  were 
Captains,  father,  grandfather  and  great-grandfather.  He 
was  of  medium  height,  compact  frame,  active  temperament, 
with  great  powers  of  endurance  and  quickness  of  percep- 
tion with  an  almost  unerring  judgment.  He  combined 
great  cheerfulness  and  generous  hospitality  with  a  remark- 
able fearlessness  in  danger  and  hopefulness  under  discour- 
agements. He  was  born  October  6,  1701,  and  lived  to  be 
85  years  old,  vigorous  almost  to  the  end  of  life. 

Alice  (or  Elsie)  Rawlins  (or  Rollins)  was  grand- 
daughter of  James  Rawlins  (or  Rollins)  who  emigrated  to 
America  in  1632  with  the  settlers  of  Ipswich,  Mass.,  and 
whose  wife  was  Hannah.  They  were  the  ancestors  of  the 
distinguished  Rollins  family  of  New  Hampshire.  She  was 
born  in  1701  and  died  in  1801.  It  was  said  of  her  that  she 
was  a  large,  strong,  vigorous  woman  quick  of  step,  strong 
of  will  and  very  methodical  in  conducting  her  household 
affairs.  Her  home,  whether  a  log  cabin  or  a  house  two 
stories  high  with  "gable  windows"  was  a  model  of  neatness 
and  order.  She  drank  neither  tea  or  coffee,  nor  tasted  of 
the  intoxicating  bowl,  nor  smoked  or  took  snuff,  which 
latter  was  a  very  fashionable  custom  in  her  day.  The 
Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  in 
Nottingham  is  named  for  her,  and  they  have  marked  her 
grave  in  the  General  Cilley  burying  ground  on  The  Square 
with  an  immense  boulder  and  bronze  tablet. 


/y  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

ORIGIN    OF    THE    NAME 

> 

In  the  earliest  records  the  name  is  variously  spelled 
as  Seely,  Seeley,  Sealy,  Sealey,  Seelye,  Sillea,  Ceely; 
spelling  in  those  days  was  not  a  fixed  art;  it  was  a  sort  of 
spell  as  you  please  period;  the  first  of  the  race  to  spell  in 
the  present  way  was  Captain  Joseph  Cilley  of  Nottingham; 
he  so  spells  his  name  in  his  Will  and  on  various  documents, 
and  he  appears  to  have  been  very  well  educated  for  a  man 
of  that  period. 

In  Froude's  History  of  England,  Vol.  VIII,  page  452, 
it  is  recorded  that  in  the  year  1563  the  following  petition 
was  addressed  to  the  Lords  of  Elizabeth's  Council:  "In 
most  lamentable  wise  showeth  unto  your  honors,  your 
humble  Orator  Dorothy  Seely,  of  the  city  of  Bristol,  wife 
to  Thomas  Seely,  of  the  Queen's  Majesty's  guard,  that 
where  her  said  husband  upon  most  vile,  slanderous,  spite- 
ful, malicious  and  most  villainous  words  spoken  against 
the  Queen's  Majesty's  own  person  by  a  certain  subject  of 
the  King  of  Spain — here  not  to  be  uttered — not  being  able 
to  suffer  the  same  did  flee  upon  the  same  slanderous  per- 
son, and  gave  him  a  blow — so  it  is,  most  honorable  Lords, 
that  here  upon  my  said  husband,  no  other  offence  in 
respect  of  their  religion  then  committed,  was  secretly 
accused  to  the  Inquisition  of  the  Holy  House,  and  so  com- 
mitted to  most  vile  prison,  and  there  hath  remained  now 
three  whole  years  in  miserable  state  and  cruel  torments." 

In  the  list  of  captains  who  accompanied  Drake  to  the 
West  Indies  in  his  famous  voyage  1585-86,  appears  the 
name  of  Captain  Thomas  Seeley  in  command  of  the 
"Minion";  he  was  probably  a  son  of  the  Thomas  above 
mentioned;  his  mother  had  trained  him  up  to  manhood  in 
deadly  hatred  of  the  Spanish  race. 

Burke  states: — The  family  was  of  Norman  extraction; 
that  John  Sealey,  Esq.,  said  to  have  been  of  the  family  of 
Sealy  of  Bridgewater,  went  to  the  sister  isle  in  the  time  of 
Charles  II.  He  was  the  father  of  Robert  Sealy,  Esq.,  of 


ORIGIN    OF   THE   NAME  '  ^ 

Bardon,  who  married  Miss  Marsh,  sister  of  General  Marsh, 
and  had  issue,  Robert,  Armiger,  George,  Baldwin,  Eliza, 
Bridget  and  Jane.  From  Burke  it  also  appears  that 
Charles  Seeley,  Esq.,  was  a  member  of  Parliament  from 
Nottingham.  "Ollyver  Ceely"  appears  as  Major  of  the 
militia  in  Plymouth  in  1660.  The  name  of  Ceely  occurs  in 
the  list  of  emigrants  from  Essex  County,  England. 

Robert  Seely  of  Watertown  probably  came  to  America 
in  the  fleet  with  Winthrop,  as  the  registry  of  his  desire  to 
become  a  freeman  was  October  19,  1630,  and  as  "Robte 
Seely"  took  the  oath  of  freeman  May  18,  1631,  at  Water- 
town,  Mass. 

This  Robert  Seeley  rendered  valuable  military  service 
in  the  Indian  wars  and  came  to  be  an  officer  with  the  rank 
of  Lieutenant.  He  was  second  in  command  under  Captain 
Mason  in  the  Pequot  War.  This  service  called  his  atten- 
tion to  the  lands  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  and  he 
finally  settled  in  the  latter  colony.  He  had  then  risen  to 
the  dignity  of  Captain,  and  was  chosen  "Commissioner  for 
ye  Town  of  Huntington  and  sworn  in  Court  May  14, 
1663."  Captain  Seeley  seems  to  have  died  in  New  York 
in  1668. 

While  Captain  Seeley  was  engaged  in  fighting  the 
Indians,  his  sons  appear  to  have  come  down  to  the  Isles  of 
Shoals  and  engaged  in  fishing,  which  was  then  a  very 
flourishing  and  profitable  business  there.  One  of  the 
settlers  there  at  that  time  was  John  Cutting,  and  probably 
his  daughter  or  grand  daughter  married  Captain  Joseph 
Cilley's  grandfather  Richard  Cilley  (Sealy);  hence  it  came 
that  Capt.  Joseph  named  one  of  his  sons  "Cutting,"  for  the 
boy's  great-grandmother,  Mary  Cutting.  This  son  became 
Capt.  Cutting  Cilley  in  the  Revolutionary  Army  and  did 
valliant  service  for  the  patriot  cause. 

"A  History  of  Cailly  in  Normdie,"  recently  published 
in  pamphlet  form  says:  "Guillaume  de  Cailly  accompanied 
in  1066  Guillaume  The  Conqueror,  in  England  and  val- 
liantly  fought  at  Hastings,  preferring  to  die  than  to  fail  to 


t£_  GENERAL    JOSEPH    CILLEY 

the  faith  that  he  owed  to  his  Duke."  It  is  claimed,  and 
perhaps  truthfully,  that  this  soldier  is  the  founder  of  the 
family  in  England  and  established  the  name.  In  this  His- 
tory the  name  is  spelled  de  Cailly,  de  Caly,  and  de  Sailly 
previous  to  1399  when  it -was  spelled  de  Sealy  and  de  Cely. 
Later  the  "de"  was  dropped  and  it  appears  as  Cailly,  Cely 
and  Sealy,  but  all  from  that  same  old  warrior  who  came 
over  from  Normandy  with  William  the  Conqueror  in  1066. 

HIS    EARLY    MANHOOD   AND    HIS   FAMILY 

General  Cilley's  ancestors,  paternal  and  maternal,  were 
all  English;  he  was  a  thoroughbred  Englishman  on  Amer- 
ican soil;  not  of  a  lineage  counted  great,  but  of  fishers  and 
choppers  and  ploughmen,  who  constituted  New  England's 
yeomanry.  For  forty  years  he  was  a  loyal  subject  of  the 
king  of  Great  Britain,  and  he  would  no  doubt  have 
remained  so  all  his  life  if  King  George  had  behaved  him- 
self and  treated  his  subjects  justly  and  honorably,  as  King 
Edward  of  to-day  conducts  the  affairs  of  state  in  Great 
Britain.  The  story  of  General  Cilley's  dealings  with  King 
George  will  be  told  later.  Let  us  look  at  the  first  two 
score  years  of  his  life. 

Joseph  Cilley  was  born  in  Nottingham,  in  1734;  he 
had  three  sisters  older,  one  of  whom,  Alice,  married  Enoch 
Page;  and  one  sister  and  a  brother  younger.  That  younger 
sister  was  Abigail,  who  married  Capt.  Zephaniah  Butler, 
an  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  Army;  they  were  the 
grand-parents  of  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  of  the  Civil 
War.  She  was  the  woman  who  taught  her  grandson  his 
A,  B,  C's  and  instilled  into  his  mind  the  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence and  free  thought  which  she  had  inherited  and 
imbibed  during  the  great  struggle  of  the  Revolution,  in 
which  her  brothers  Joseph  and  Cutting  were  such  prom- 
inent actors.  The  younger  son  was  born  in  1738,  married 
Martha  Morrill  in  1761  and  died  in  1825,  aged  87  years. 
He  resided  in  Nottingham  and  was  a  captain  in  the  Revo- 


HIS    EARLY    MANHOOD  '  .7. 

lutionary  Army  during  the  war.  He  held  various  town 
offices  in  Nottingham.  His  last  days  were  passed  in 
Northfield,  where  he  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son  John. 
They  had  twelve  children,  nine  boys  and  three  girls,  all  but 
one  of  whom  were  married  and  left  descendants.  Several 
of  the  sons  lived  to  great  age  and  have  honorable  records. 

Gen.  Joseph  Cilley  was  a  farmer;  his  farm  and  family 
residence  were  on  The  Square,  about  a  mile  above  the  resi- 
dence of  his  father  at  the  Ledge  Farm,  where  he  was  born. 
Previous  to  the  Revolution  he  held  some  town  offices,  but 
his  chief  attention  was  given  to  farming,  lumbering  and 
business  affairs  in  general,  such  as  occupied  the  attention 
and  energies  of  business  men  in  that  period.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  Longfellow,  November  4, 
1756.  He  was  then  22  years  old;  she  was  17.  They  had 
ten  children,  three  daughters  and  seven  sons.  He  died 
August  25,  1799,  aged  65.  She  died  May  23,  1811. 

Sarah  Longfellow  was  the  daughter  of  Judge  Jonathan 
and  Mercy  (Clark)  Longfellow,  who  settled  in  Nottingham 
about  the  same  time,  or  a  little  after  Capt.  Joseph  Cilley 
settled  there.  For  further  information  in  regard  to  Judge 
Longfellow  and  his  wife,  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  previous 
number  of  THE  GRANITE  STATE  MAGAZINE.  Sarah 
Longfellow  Cilley  was  a  woman  of  superior  intelligence 
and  strong  personality.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution 
she  was  only  37  years  old.  When  her  husband  went  to 
the  war  she  resolutely  took  up  the  burden  of  managing  the 
farm,  the  family  of  eight  children  and  household  affairs  in 
general.  Her  eldest  daughter  had  been  married  two  years; 
her  eldest  son,  Bradbury,was  1 5  years  old.  Those  were  stren- 
uoustimes,  but  Mrs.  Cilley  was  equal  to  the  demand,  and  with 
the  loyal  help  of  her  young  sons,  whom  she  trained  in  ways 
of  industry,  she  kept  the  farm  and  all  the  family  affairs  in  a 
prosperous  condition  until  her  gallant  husband  sheathed 
his  sword  and  returned  from  the  warpaths  to  the  paths  of 
peace.  What  the  woman  did  at  home  was  equally  as  patri- 
otic as  what  the  man  did  in  the  field  of  war.  After  the 
war  Mrs.  Cilley  was  a  conspicuous  and  leading  lady  in  the 


8.  GENERAL    JOSEPH    CILLEY 

numerous  social  functions  which  the  brilliant  career  of  her 
husband  demanded  of  them  to  participate  in.  Sarah  Long- 
fellow Cilley  was  a  model  Colonial  Dame  of  the  opening 
years  of  the  American  Republic. 

The  children  of  Gen.  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Longfellow) 
Cilley  were  as  follows: 

1.  Sarah,  born  October  16,  1757;  married,  August  19, 
1773,  Judge  Thomas  Bartlett  of  Nottingham,  who  was  one 
of  the  leading  patriots  in  New  Hampshire,  and  a  descend- 
ant of  the  distinguished  Bartlett  family  of  Old  Newbury, 
Mass.     He  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  town  affairs  of 
Nottingham  for  forty  years.     He  was  captain  of  a  com- 
pany at    Winter    Hill   in    1775-76;    lieutenant-colonel    in 
Colonel  Oilman's  Regiment  in  1776,  and  same  in  Colonel 
Evans'  Regiment  in  Rhode  Island,  1778.     He  was  colonel 
of  one  of  the  regiments  New  Hampshire  raised  for  the 
defense  of  West  Point  in  1780,  where  he  was  stationed 
when  General  Arnold  played  the  traitor.     He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  of  Safety  from    May  28,  1778,  to 
January  5,  1779.     After  the  war  he  was  major-general  of 
the  New  Hampshire  militia,  succeeding  his  father-in-law, 
Gen.  Joseph  Cilley.     During  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  he 
was  judge  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  holding  that 
office  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1805. 

2.  Bradbury,  born  February  I,  1760;  married,  Novem- 
ber 19,  1792,  Martha,  daughter  of  Gen.  Enoch  Poor.     This 
son  was  not  much  in  public  life,  but  was  a  man  of  great 
business  ability,  much  of  which  was  due  to  the  training  his 
mother  gave   him  during  the  Revolutionary  period.     He 
was  elected  representative  in  Congress  in  1813  and  served 
one  term.     He  was  colonel  on  Governor  Gilman's  staff  in 
1814-15,  doing  active  duty  in  the  fall  of  1814.     In  1817  he 
was  United  States  marshal  for  the  district  of  New  Hamp- 
shire.    He  acquitted   himself   honorably  in   all  of    those 
offices,  but  his  great  ability  was   manifested  in   business 
affairs.  •  He  always  resided  on  Nottingham  Square;  he  died 
there  December  17,  1831,  in  his  seventy-second  year. 


HON.  JONATHAN  CILLEY 


General  Josfepi)  Ctttep 


By  JOHN  SCALES.  A.  B.f  A.  M. 


,  third  child,  born  March  8,  1762;  married, 
July  5,  1786,  Dorcas  Butler,  daughter  of  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin  Butler,  pastor  of  Nottingham  for  many  years. 
He  was  with  his  father,  then  a  colonel  of  the  First  New 
Hampshire  Regiment,  in  1777,  a  boy  of  fifteen  years. 
When  the  sudden  march  from  Ticonderoga  took  place, 
Jonathan  was  taken  prisoner.  His  captor,  on  learning  who 
he  was,  took  him  to  General  Burgoyne,  who  ordered  that 
he  should  be  treated  kindly,  and  later  he  was  provided  with 
a  pass  to  join  his  father  in  the  American  army.  General 
Burgoyne  also  permitted  the  boy  to  select  from  the  cap- 
tured baggage,  which  was  immense,  any  article  of  clothing 
he  might  desire.  Jonathan  took  the  best  looking  coat  he 
could  find.  This  proved  to  have  belonged  to  Major  Hull, 
afterwards  the  celebrated  General  Hull.  He  was  also  pro- 
vided with  an  old  horse  and  a  pair  of  saddlebags,  filled  with 
Burgoyne's  proclamations,  to  convey  to  his  father.  On 
reaching  the  regiment,  he  found  it  on  parade,  with  his 
father  in  front.  Colonel  Cilley  seized  one  of  the  procla- 
mations and  read  it  aloud  to  his  men;  then,  ordering  all  the 
papers  to  be  torn  to  pieces,  he  said: 

"Thus  may  the  British  army  be  scattered." 
Early  in  1782,  when  he  was  twenty  years  old,  Jona- 
than was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  to  the  close  of  the  war.  He  married,  July  5, 
1786,  Dorcas,  daughter  of  Rev.  Benjamin  and  Dorcas 
(Abbott)  Butler,  and  they  resided  in  Nottingham  until 
1804,  when  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Ohio  and  settled 
at  Colerain,  near  Cincinnati  In  Nottingham  he  held  vari- 


\O i  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

ous  town  offices,  was  justice  of  the  peace,  inspector  and 
brigade  major  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  New  Hampshire 
Militia,  assistant  treasurer  of  the  Order  of  Cincinnati  from 
1794  to  1799,  and  vice-president  from  1799  to  1802.  In 
Ohio  he  became  a  large  land-owner,  and  was  prominent  in 
business  and  military  affairs.  They  had  six  sons  and  five 
daughters,  most  of  whom  married  and  have  descendants  in 
the  West. 

4.  Joseph,  born  November  19,  1764;  died  December 

3,  1779- 

5.  Greenleaf,  born  March  5,  1767;  married  May  22, 
1788,  Jennie  Nealley;  he  died  February  25,  1808;  she  died 
March  26,  1866,  aged  ninety-four  years.     She  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Susannah  (Bowdoin)  Nealley  of  Notting- 
ham.    Her  father  was   an   officer  in   the   Revolutionary 
Army  and  participated  in  the  Siege  of  Boston.     He  was  in 
the  army  at  Saratoga  when  Burgoyne  surrendered  and  at 
Yorktown  when  Cornwallis  capitulated,  besides  being  in 
other    battles.     Mrs.    Cilley   was    a   remarkable   woman, 
handsome  in  personal  appearance,  brilliant  in  intellect,  and 
retaining  all  of  her  faculties  and  vigor  of  mind  to  the  end 
of  life.     Her  husband  was  a  farmer  in  Nottingham;  he  held 
various  town  offices  and  was  major  in  one  of  the  regiments 
of  the  state  militia.     They  had  three  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters.    Two  of  the  sons  had  notable  careers:  Joseph,  who 
was  born   January  4,  1791,  and   Jonathan  who  was   born 
July  2,  1802. 

The  elder  son  was  known  as  Col.  Joseph  Cilley,  his 
grandfather  was  General  Joseph,  and  his  great-grandfather 
was  Capt.  Joseph  Cilley.  It  is  well  to  keep  these  titles 
in  mind  in  considering  the  various  persons  bearing  the 
name  Joseph  Cilley.  They  have  sometimes  been  confused. 

Col.  Joseph  Cilley  was  educated  at  Atkinson  Acad- 
emy. He  was  commissioned  as  ensign  in  the  First  Com- 
pany of  the  Eighteenth  Regiment,  by  Gov.  John  Lang- 
don,  October  17,  1811.  On  March  12,  1812,  he  was 
appointed  an  ensign  in  the  United  States  army  and  ordered 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  17 

for  duty  in  Capt.  John  McClary's  company,  Eleventh  Regi- 
ment, United  States  Infantry,  then  commanded  by  Col. 
Isaac  Clark  of  Vermont.  He  was  promoted  to  lieutenant 
March  17,  1814,  and  transferred  to  the  Twenty-First 
United  States  Infantry,  commanded  by  Colonel  Miller,  and 
was  in  the  battle  of  Chippewa.  In  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
water,  or  "Lundy's  Lane,"  he  was  badly  wounded  by  a 
musket  ball,  producing  a  compound  fracture  of  the  thigh 
bone.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  brevetted  captain  for  his 
gallantry  in  that  battle. 

The  action  of  the  Twenty-First  Regiment  in  this 
engagment  deserves  mention.  The  enemy  after  the 
repulse  at  Chippewa,  July  4,  1814,  on  the  25th  of  July 
appeared  in  force  at  Queenstown,  and  his  fleet  arrived  and 
lay  near  Fort  Niagara.  General  Scott,  with  the  First 
Brigade,  Towson  Artillery  and  all  the  dragoons  and  cav- 
alry, was  ordered  to  march  towards  Queenstown,  to  report 
if  the  enemy  appeared,  and  to  call  for  assistance  if  neces- 
sary. Scott  pushed  on  his  command  with  vigor,  and  upon 
his  arrival  at  the  Falls  found  the  enemy,  under  General  Riall, 
directly  in  front,  behind  a  narrow  strip  of  woods,  and  in  line 
of  battle  up  Lundy's  Lane,  a  ridge  of  land  nearly  at  right 
angles  with  the  Niagara,  and  about  a  mile  below  the  Falls. 
General  Scott  sent  informatian  to  General  Brown,  and 
his  advance  commenced  skirmishing  about  5.30  P.  M.,  but 
the  action  did  not  commence  in  earnest  until  7  p.  M., 
The  British  were  in  much  larger  force,  hence  were  able  to 
extend  their  lines  much  farther  and  to  make  flank  move- 
ments. To  counteract  this  advantage,  our  troops  fought 
in  detachments  and  charged  in  columns,  each  upon  their 
own  responsibility,  until  General  Brown  came  up  with  the 
remainder  of  the  forces.  Major  Jessup,  taking  advantage 
of  a  wood  between  a  road  parallel  to  the  river  and  the 
river,  through  which  he  led  his  regiment,  turned  the 
enemy's  left,  took  General  Riall  and  some  of  his  principal 
officers  prisoners,  and,  charging  back,  regained  his  position 
in  gallant  style.  Meanwhile,  the  enemy  moved  a  battalion 


1JL,  GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY 

to  the  rear  of  our  right  flank,  but  were  promptly  met  by 
Major  McNeil  with  the  Eleventh,  and  driven  back  with 
great  slaughter.  Thus  the  contest  raged  for  an  hour;  the 
British  infantry  driven  back  at  each  point  by  turns,  but 
holding  their  position  through  a  powerful  battery  of  two 
twenty-fours,  four  sixes,  and  three  howitzers,  planted  upon 
a  rising  ground  and  commanding  the  field,  and  keeping  up 
a  destructive  and  incessant  fire. 

Now  came  Ripley's  brigade,  containing  Lieutenant 
Cilley's  regiment,  to  the  front,  enveloped  in  smoke  and 
mad  with  excitement,  greeted  with  cheer  after  cheer  by  the 
combatants.  While  forming  for  evening  parade,  the  boom- 
ing of  cannon  and  the  rattling  of  small  arms  announced 
that  Scott  had  found  the  enemy.  They  moved  immedi- 
ately, and  at  the  double  quick,  actually  running  three  miles 
betwixt  the  camp  and  the  battlefield.  Porter's  brigade  fol- 
lowed them.  Both  were  soon  deployed  and  hurled  against 
the  enemy,  but  the  battery  upon  the  hill  made  sad  havoc 
among  our  troops.  It  became  evident  to  General  Brown 
that  the  British  battery  must  be  carried  to  insure  success. 
He  turned  to  gallant  Miller  of  the  Twenty-First,  and 
ordered  him  to  storm  the  battery.  "I'll  try,  sir,"  was  the 
laconic  reply.  The  contest  that  followed  is  well  described 
in  a  letter  written  by  Colonel  Miller. 

"I  had  short  of  300  men  with  me,  as  my  regiment  had 
been  weakened  by  numerous  details  made  from  it  during 
the  day.  I  however,  immediately  obeyed  the  order.  We 
could  see  all  their  slow  matches  and  port  fires  burning  and 
ready.  I  did  not  know  what  side  had  the  most  favorable 
approach,  but  happened  to  hit  upon  a  very  favorable  place, 
notwithstanding  we  advanced  upon  the  mouths  of  their 
pieces.  There  was  an  old  rail  fence  on  the  side  where  we 
approached,  undiscovered  by  the  enemy,  with  a  small 
growth  of  shrubbery  by  the  fence,  and  in  within  less  than 
two  rods  of  the  cannon's  mouth.  I  then  very  cautiously 
ordered  my  men  to  rest  across  the  fence,  take  good  aim, 
fire  and  rush;  which  was  done  in  style.  Not  a  man  at  the 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    C1LLEY  Ij, 

cannon  was  left  to  put  fire  to  them.  We  got  into  the 
center  of  their  park  before  they  had  time  to  oppose  us.  A 
British  line  was  formed  and  placed  in  line  to  protect  their 
artillery;  the  moment  we  got  to  the  center  they  opened  a 
most  destructive  flank  fire  on  us;  killed  many  and  attempted 
to  charge  with  their  bayonets.  We  returned  the  fire  so 
warmly  they  were  compelled  to  stand.  We  fought  hand 
to  hand  for  some  time,  so  close  that  the  blaze  of  our  guns 
crossed  each  other;  but  we  compelled  them  to  abandon 
their  whole  artillery,  ammunition  wagons  and  all;  amount- 
ing to  seven  pieces  of  brass  cannon,  one  of  which  was  a 
twenty-four  pounder,  with  eight  horses  and  harnesses, 
though  some  of  the  horses  were  killed.  The'British  made 
two  more  attempts  to  charge  us  at  close  quarters,  both  of 
which  were  repulsed  before  I  was  re-enforced  by  the  First 
and  Twenty-Third  Regiments;  and  even  after  that  the 
British  charged  with  their  whole  line  three  several  times, 
and  after  getting  within  half  pistol  shot  of  us  were  com- 
pelled to  give  way.  I  took  with  my  regiment  between 
thirty  and  forty  prisoners." 

This  charge  took  place  about  10  o'clock  at  night,  in 
moonlight.  Colonel  Miller's  regiment  lost  in  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six,  nearly 
one-half  his  strength.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cilley's  com- 
pany led  in  the  charge  on  the  cannon,  and  every  commis- 
sioned and  every  non-commissioned  officer  present  with 
the  company  was  either  killed  or  wounded.  This  was  one 
of  the  most  sanguinary  battles  of  the  war,  and  the  gallant 
act  of  Colonel  Miller  and  the  noble  Twenty-First  won 
the  admiration  of  all. 

Lieutenant  Cilley  was  afterwards  brevetted  captain  for 
his  gallantry  in  that  battle,  and  was  retained  in  the  United 
States  army  on  the  peace  establishment  until  he  resigned 
his  commission  in  July,  1816.  An  explosion  of  cartridges 
at  Detroit,  Mich.,  caused  the  loss  of  his  right  eye.  On  the 
2ist  of  June,  1817,  he  was  commissioned  as  quartermaster 
on  the  staff  of  the  first  division,  New  Hampshire  militia, 


l^f  GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY 

and  in  1821  as  division  inspector;  in  1827  he  was  appointed 
aide  on  the  staff  of  Gov.  Benjamin  Pierce,  with  the  rank 
of  colonel,  by  which  title  he  was  known  the  rest  of  his 
life.  In  1846,  Colonel  Cilley  was  elected  by  the  legislature 
to  the  United  States  senate,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  resignation  of  Hon  Levi  VVoodbury.  Upon  the  close 
of  his  senatorial  term,  Colonel  Cilley  retired  to  his  farm 


in  Nottingham. 


HON.   JONATHAN    CILLEY 


Hon.  Jonathan  Cilley,  a  younger  brother  of  Colonel 
Joseph,  born  July  2,  1802,  prepared  for  college  at  Atkin- 
son Academy,  graduated  from  Bowdoin  College  in  1825, 
the  class  which  had  many  members  who  became  distin- 
guished, among  the  number  being  Longfellow  and  Haw- 
thorne; he  studied  law  with  United  States  Senator  John 
Ruggles  at  Thomaston,  Me.;  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he 
entered  into  practice  of  his  profession  at  that  place.  He 
not  only  became  a  successful  lawyer,  but  also  became  inter- 
ested in  political  affairs  soon  after  entering  upon  his  prac- 
tice of  law;  he  edited  the  "Thomaston  Register"  from 
1829  to  1831;  he  was  elected  representative  from  Thomas- 
ton  to  the  legislature  in  1831-33-34-35  and  served  as  speaker 
of  the  house  the  latter  year.  In  1832  he  was  elected  pres- 
idential elector;  in  1836  he  was  elected  to  congress,  being 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Democratic  party  in  that 
congressional  district,  although  only  thirty-four  years  old. 
His  career  as  congressman  was  cut  short  by  a  duel  with 
Congressman  William  J.  Graves  of  Kentucky,  February 
24,  1838,  in  which  he  was  shot  dead  on  the  field  at  Bladens- 
burg,  Md.  That  duel  is  historic,  as  it  caused  the  end  of 
duelling  by  congressmen.  A  brief  of  the  story  of  the 
duel  is  as  follows: 

On  January  23,  1838,  in  the  house  of  representatives, 
Henry  A.  Wise,  representative  from  Virginia,  who  later 
was  governor  of  Virginia  from  1856  to  1860,  in  which  his 
last  act  was  hanging  John  Brown  at  Harper's  Ferry, 


GENERAL    JOSEPH    CILLEY  !•' 

opposed  the  appropriation  bill  before  the  house  for  the 
expenses  of  the  Seminole  War,  in  which  he  indulged  in 
one  of  his  most  bitter  tirades  and  a  general  attack  upon 
the  administration. 

Mr.  Cilley  answered  him  in  calm  language,  delivering 
one  of  the  most  admirable  speeches  ever  heard  in  that 
ancient  hall  of  congress.  In  this  he  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  unworthy  factiousness  from  which  the  opposition  to 
the  bill  evidently  sprung,  a  power  of  reasoning,  a  broad, 
philosophic  elevation  of  views,  and  a  moral  power  of  sin- 
cerity and  patriotism  perfectly  overwhelming,  but  Henry 
A.  Wise  was  one  of  those  "Hotspurs"  who  make  all  the 
more  fuss  the  more  they  are  "overwhelmed." 

The  next  step  towards  the  duel  arose  from  a  Washing- 
ton letter,  published  by  the  New  York  Courier  and 
Enquirer,  signed,  "A  Spy  in  Washington,"  in  which  some 
unnamed  member  of  congress  was  charged  with  corrup- 
tion and  bribery,  and  the  charge  was  backed  editorially  by 
Col.  James  Watson  Webb,  a  man  who  was  as  much  of  a 
"Hotspur"  as  Henry  A.  Wise,  who  introduced  a  resolution 
of  inquiry  in  regard  to  the  charge.  A  lively  debate 
occurred  on  that  resolution,  in  which  Mr.  Cilley  took  part 
and  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  resolution  on  the  ground 
that  the  anonymous  obscurity  of  the  source  from  which  the 
charge  came  placed  it  entirely  beneath  the  dignity  of  the 
house  to  entertain  it,  especially  as  the  charge  was  with- 
out specification,  individuality,  oath,  or  direct  responsi- 
bility, the  writer  being  unknown,  and  the  member  accused 
being  not  named,  the  writer  being  vouched  for  by  the 
editor  of  a  newspaper,  of  which  paper  he  said: 

"He  knew  nothing  of  the  editor,  but  if  it  was  the 
same  editor  who  had  once  made  grave  charges  against 
an  institution  of  the  country  and  afterwards  was  said  t'o 
have  received  facilities  to  the  amount  of  some  fifty-two 
thousand  dollars  from  the  same  institution  and  gave  it  his 
hearty  support,  he  did  not  think  his  charges  were  entitled 
to  much  credit  in  an  American  congress." 


16.  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

This  led  to  a  letter  from  Webb,  demanding  that  Mr. 
Cilley  should  apologize  or  fight  a  duel.  Mr.  Cilley  posi- 
tively declined  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Webb,  or  to  be 
called  to  account  for  words  spoken  in  debate  on  the  floor 
of  the  house.  Webb's  challenge  was  carried  to  Mr.  Cilley 
by  Congressman  William  J.  Graves  of  Kentucky  and,  as 
the  challenge  was  declined,  Graves  took  it  upon  himself 
to  make  Mr.  Cilley  apologize  in  some  way  and  say  that  he 
had  not  "any  personal  objection  to  Colonel  Webb  as  a 
gentleman."  Mr.  Cilley  replied  that  he  would  not  be 
drawn  into  any  controversy  with  Webb,  and  he  would 
neither  affirm  nor  deny  that  Webb  was  a  "gentleman"  and 
a  "man  of  honor,"  and  at  the  same  time  he  assured  Mr. 
Graves  that  he  intended  no  disrespect  for  him  (Graves)  in 
refusing  to  have  anything  to  do  with  Webb. 

An  extended  correspondence  then  followed  in  regard 
to  the  challenge  by  Graves  and  arranging  for  the  duel, 
Henry  A.  Wise  acting  as  "second"  to  Graves,  and  George 
W.  Jones  acting  as  "second"  to  Mr.  Cilley.  Mr.  Jones 
was  congressman  from  Michigan.  The  duel  was  fought 
on  the  famous  duelling  ground  at  Bladensburg,  just  outside 
of  Washington;  time  about  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Feb- 
ruary 24;  the  weapons,  rifles;  distance  apart,  80  yards; 
three  shots  were  fired  and  Cilley  fell  on  the  third,  shot 
dead. 

The  affair  caused  a  tremendous  commotion  in  Wash- 
ington, which  spread  throughout  the  country,  the  general 
public  branding  Graves  as  a  murderer  and  Wise  and  Jones 
as  particeps  criminis.  All  three  were  terribly  frightened, 
fearing  prosecution  and  severe  punishment.  Jones  and 
Wise  published  a  statement,  trying  to  justify  their  connec- 
tion with  the  affair  and  calm  the  excitement  which  had 
arisen,  but  their  statement  failed  to  accomplish  anything 
of  the  kind. 


GEN.  JONATHAN  PRINCE  CILLEY 


General  3Josepi)  CtUep 

in 

By  JOHN  SCALES,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 


duel  was  fought  on  the  24th  of  February. 
Hon.  John  Fairfield,  congressman  from  York 
county,  Me.,  at  once  introduced  a  resolution  in 
the  house,  calling  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
investigate  the  affair  and  report  whether  there  had  been 
any  breach  of  the  privileges  of  the  house.  That  committee 
reported  on  the  2ist  of  April,  1838,  that  "It  is  a  breach  of 
the  highest  privilege  of  the  house,  and  of  the  most  sacred 
rights  of  the  people,  in  the  person  of  their  representative, 
to  demand,  in  a  hostile  manner,  an  explanation  of  words 
spoken  in  debate."  The  report  was  accompanied  by  reso- 
lutions for  the  expulsion  of  Graves,  Wise  and  Jones.  A 
long  debate  followed,  in  which  the  sentiments  expressed  in 
favor  of  duelling  seem  most  ridiculous  now.  Finally  they 
were  saved  from  expulsion  by  a  vote  of  102  to  76,  but  this 
did  not  end  the  excitement  and  indignation  outside  of  the 
house,  and  James  Watson  Webb,  the  New  York  editor, 
was  denounced  as  equally  guilty  with  Graves.  The  following 
session  of  congress  enacted  the  law,  which  now  stands, 
forever  forbidding  duelling  by  congresssmen  for  words 
spoken  in  debate.  Party  feeling  then  ran  high,  but  party 
lines  were  abolished  in  the  manifestation  of  indignation. 
It  was  denounced  as  "a  dastardly  murder,"  "a  cold  blooded 
assasination."  Mr.  Cilley  himself  believed  that  the  chal- 
lenge was  the  fruit  of  a  desire  to  take  his  life.  Mr.  Cilley 
said  to  his  friends  on  the  morning  of  the  encounter: 

"I  am  driven  to  this  meeting  by  a  positive  compulsion. 
I  have  done  all  that  an  honorable  man  could  to  avert  it. 
Why  should  I  acknowledge  that  man  (Webb)  to  be  a  gen- 

17 


18  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

tleman  and  a  man  of  honor?  In  truth  and  conscience  I 
could  not  do  so;  and  still  less  can  I  have  it  so  unreason- 
ably extorted  from  me  by  force  and  threat.  I  have  no  ill 
will  or  disrespect  towards  Mr.  Graves.  He  knows  it,  and 
I  have  repeatedly  expressed  it.  I  abhor  the  idea  of  taking 
his  life,  and  I  will  do  nothing  not  forced  upon  me  in  self- 
defense.  The  pretext  of  the  challenge  is  absurd.  I  under- 
stand the  conspiracy  to  destroy  me  as  a  public  man.  But 
New  England  must  not  be  trampled  upon;  my  name  must 
not  be  disgraced;  and  I  go  to  this  field  sustained  by  as 
high  a  motive  of  patriotism  as  ever  led  my  grandfather  or 
my  brother  to  battle;  as  an  unhappy  duty,  not  to  be  shrunk 
from,  to  my  honor,  my  principles  and  my  country." 

Mr.  Cilley's  college  classmate  and  lifelong  friend, 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  said  of  this  duel,  soon  after  it 
occurred:  "A  challenge  was  never  given  on  a  more  shadowy 
pretext;  a  duel  was  never  pressed  to  a  fatal  close  in  the 
face  of  such  open  kindness  as  was  expressed  by  Mr. 
Cilley;  and  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  Mr.  Graves 
and  his  principal  second,  Mr.  Wise,  have  gone  further  than 
their  own  dreadful  code  will  warrant  them,  and  overstepped 
the  imaginary  distinction,  which,  on  their  own  principles, 
separates  manslaughter  from  murder." 

Mr.  Hawthorne  further  said:  "As  a  young  man  he  was 
of  a  quick  and  powerful  intellect,  endowed  with  sagacity 
and  tact,  yet  frank  and  free  in  his  mode  of  action;  ambi- 
tious of  good  influence,  earnest,  active  and  persevering, 
with  an  elasticity  and  cheerful  strength  of  mind,  which 
made  difficulties  easy  and  the  struggles  with  them  a 
pleasure.  He  was  the  kindliest  and  gentlest  of  human 
beings,  with  a  constant  and  happy  flow  of  animal  spirits, 
and  the  innocence  of  a  child;  while  at  the  same  time  as 
independent,  courageous  and  firm  in  his  purpose  as  he  was 
clear  in  his  judgment  and  upright  in  his  every  thought." 

GEN.    JONATHAN    PRINCE   CILLEY 

In  this  connection  it  seems  proper  to  give  a  brief  men- 
tion of  Congressman  Cilley's  son,  Gen.  Jonathan  Prince 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   CILLEY  19 

Cilley  of  Thomaston,  Me.,  who  was  two  years  old  when  his 
father  was  killed  in  the  duel.  General  Cilley  graduated  at 
Bowdoin  College  in  1858;  studied  law  with  A.  P.  Gould  of 
Thomaston,  Me.,  and  after  admission  to  the  bar  practised 
his  profession  in  that  city.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil 
War  he  enlisted  150  men  for  a  light  field  battery;  but  that 
arm  of  the  service  not  being  required,  he  enlisted  in  the 
First  Maine  Cavalry  and  was  commissioned  captain. 
During  the  retreat  of  General  Banks  from  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  he  was  wounded  and  made  prisoner  at  Middletown, 
May  24,  1862.  Subsequently  he  was  promoted  to  be  major 
and  was  assigned  to  duty  as  judge  advocate  and  examining 
officer  at  the  central  guard  house  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
In  1863  he  rejoined  his  regiment,  although  his  severe 
wound  had  not  completely  healed;  in  1864  he  was  promoted 
to  lieutenant-colonel  and  placed  in  command  of  a  regiment, 
which  position  he  held  till  the  close  of  the  war;  when  he 
was  mustered  out,  in  1865,  he  was  brevetted  brigadier-gen- 
eral, for  distinguished  services  at  Five  Forks,  Farmville  and 
Appomattox  court  house.  His  regiment  was  the  banner 
regiment  of  Maine,  and  bears  the  names  of  three  more 
battles  upon  its  standard  than  any  other  regiment  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  on  the  standard  General  Cilley 
is  designated  as  "the  first  man  who  enlisted,  the  first  man 
wounded,  and  nearly  the  last  man  mustered  out."  It  is 
officially  stated  that  his  regiment  had  ten  more  men  and 
one  more  officer  than  any  other  cavalry  regiment  in  the 
United  States'  service. 

After  the  war,  General  Cilley  resumed  his  law  practice 
in  Rockland,  Me.,  and  has  been  much  honored  by  his  state. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  legislature,  deputy  collector 
of  customs,  adjutant-general  of  the  state,  commissioner  of 
the  United  States  circuit  court.  He  is  an  active  member 
of  the  Maine  Historical  Society,  corresponding  member  of 
the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society,  member  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Society  of  Cincinnati  and  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  Commandery  of  Maine.  General  Cilley  has  no 


20  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

children,   having   lost    his   only  son,  a  very  brilliant   and 
excellent  young  man,  a  few  years  ago. 

GENERAL    CILLEY's    SONS   CONCLUDED 

The  fifth  son  and  sixth  child  was  Daniel,  born  March 
12,  1769;  married  November  7,  1790,  Hannah  Plumer;  he 
died  December  4,  1842.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Gov. 
William  Plumer  and  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Dole 
Plumer.  She  died  February  19,  1850.  Mr.  Cilley  was  a 
farmer  and  resided  in  Epsom,  where  he  was  one  of  the 
most  worthy  and  highly  respected  citizens.  They  had 
seven  sons  and  one  daughter.  One  of  the  sons  was  Rev. 
Daniel  Plumer  Cilley,  who  was  one  of  the  leading  clergy- 
men of  the  Freewill  Baptist  denomination.  He  was  born 
May  31,  1806,  and  died  in  Farmington,  November  14,  1888. 
He  was  chaplain  of  the  Eighth  New  Hampshire  Regi- 
ment of  Volunteers  during  the  Civil  War,  and  had  a  brave 
record  as  a  fighting  chaplain,  as  well  as  in  praying.  Mrs. 
Adelaide  Cilley  Waldron,  author  and  editor,  wife  of  Judge 
John  Waldron  of  Farmington,  is  his  daughter. 

A  very  large  concourse  of  people  attended  his  funeral: 
At  the  service,  one  of  his  fellow-ministers,  the  oldest 
among  the  number,  who  knew  him  in  early  years,  arose  and 
said:  "I  knew  this  king  among  men  all  his  life.  How 
powerfully  he  could  preach;  how  fervently  he  prayed,  and 
oh,  how  sweetly  he  sang." 

He  had  a  remarkably  vibrant,  strong  and  resonant, 
but  sweet,  high  voice.  I  have  seen  few  men  so  noticeable 
in  personal  port  and  fineness  of  feature.  He  was  very 
dainty  in  his  habits,  clean  of  life  and  tongue,  high-minded 
— and  with  all  the  fighting  impulse  of  the  soldierly  clan  of 
the  Cilleys,  on  occasion. 

The  sixth  son  and  eighth  child  of  General  Cilley  was 
Jacob,  born  July  19,  1773;  married,  January  8,  1801,  Har- 
riet, daughter  of  General  Enoch  Poor.  He  died  January 
22,  1831.  His  wife  was  born  January  31,  1780;  died  June 
7,  1838,  He  resided  in  Nottingham  and  was  known  as 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  21 

Major  Cilley,  having  held  that  office  in  the  state  militia. 
He  was  also  a  justice  of  the  peace  many  years  and  repre- 
sentative from  Nottingham  in  the  legislature  for  1802, 
1803,  1806,  1807,  1808,  1810,  1812  and  1813.  One  of  his 
grandsons  was  Prof.  Bradbury  Longfellow  Cilley,  who  was 
for  forty  years  professor  of  Greek  in  Phillips  Exeter  Acad- 
emy. Another  grandson  is  Gen.  Harry  B.  Cilley  of  Man- 
chester, whose  father  was  Jacob  Green  Cilley  and  whose 
mother  (Martha  Cilley  Bouton)  is  granddaughter  of 
Horatio  Gates  Cilley,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Gen. 
Joseph  Cilley. 

Horatio  Gates  Cilley,  the  seventh  son  and  youngest  child 
of  Gen.  Joseph  Cilley,  was  born  December  23,  1777;  married 
November  17,  1802,  Sally  Jenness;  she  was  born  in  Deer- 
field,  August  4,  1/82;  he  died  November  26,  1837;  she  died 
November  n,  1866.  He  was  a  farmer  and  resided  in 
Deerfield.  He  was  an  extensive  land  owner,  a  man  of 
great  energy  of  character,  a  safe  counsellor,  a  good  advo- 
cate, generous  and  humane.  His  only  son,  Horatio  Gates 
Cilley,  graduated  from  Dartmouth '  College  in  1827,  and 
was  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Lewiston,  Me.  A  grandson,. 
Horatio  Gates  Cilley,  graduated  from  Dartmouth  in  1863 

HIS    MILITARY   RECORD 

Gen.  Joseph  Cilley  was  a  representative  from  Notting- 
ham in  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Hampshire,  which 
was  held  at  Exeter  in  June,  1775.  His  most  conspicuous 
service  in  that  Congress  was  his  appointment  as  one  of 
a  committee  to  go  to  Portsmouth  for  the  money  belonging 
to  the  Province,  then  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  George 
Jeffreys,  Esq.  The  treasurer  was  unwilling  to  give  it  to 
the  committee,  but  finally  complied  with  the  request.  The 
money  was  taken  to  Exeter  and  deposited  in  a  safe  in  the 
old  Gilman  house,  which  house  is  now  owned  by  the  New 
Hampshire  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  General  Cilley  was 
one  of  the  original  members  of  this  society,  and  his  great- 
grandson,  Gen.  Jonathan  Prince  Cilley,  of  Maine,  is  the 


22  GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY 

present  lineal  representative.  Six  months  before  that, 
December  15,  1774,  General  Cilley  was  one  of  the  party 
with  Gen.  John  Sullivan  of  Durham,  who  took  the  cannon 
and  other  implements  of  war  from  Fort  William  and  Mary, 
now  Fort  Constitution,  and  carried  them  up  the  river  to 
Durham,  with  the  powder,  one  hundred  barrels  or  more, 
which  had  been  captured  and  taken  from  the  fort  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  before,  December  14,  by  a  party  of 
Portsmouth  men,  led  by  Capt.  John  Langdon.  This  was 
done  on  the  suggestion  of  Paul  Revere,  who  came  to  that 
town  from  Boston  with  the  information  that  no  more 
powder  was  to  be  imported,  and  that  the  British  would 
probably  remove  any  found  from  the  fort  if  the  people  of 
Portsmouth  did  not  make  the  first  move  and  take  it.  From 
Durham  the  powder  and  cannon  were  distributed  inland, 
in  various  towns,  for  safe  keeping.  The  Pascataqua  River 
was  free  of  ice  up  to  its  head,  the  entrance  to  Little  Bay 
at  Fox  Point,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Oyster  River. 

The  river  and  bay  were  frozen  over,  and  it  took  a 
crew  of  men  two  days  to  break  the  ice  and  get  the  powder 
and  cannon  up  to  the  head  of  tide  water,  a  distance  of  two 
miles,  to  the  old  meeting-house,  near  General  Sullivan's 
house.  General  Cilley  and  General  Sullivan  worked  with 
the  big  crew  of  men  until  the  powder  was  stored  tempora- 
rily under  the  meeting-house.  That  transaction  was  the 
first  act  of  war  in  the  Revolution;  the  conflict  at  Lexing- 
ton and  Concord  was  four  months  later.  It  was  very 
fortunate  that  the  powder  and  cannon  were  removed 
from  the  fort  on  December  14  and  15,  for  a  day  or  two 
afterwards  the  British  frigate  "Scarboro"  and  the  sloop 
"Canseau"  arrived  at  Portsmouth  with  several  companies 
of  soldiers,  who  took  possession  of  the  fort  and  of  the 
heavy  cannon  which  Sullivan  and  his  men  had  not  been 
able  to  remove.  Paul  Revere's  ride  to  Portsmouth  on 
December  13,  1774,  was  no  less  important,  though  not 
quite  so  exciting  and  picturesque,  as  his  ride  from  Charles- 
town  to  Lexington  and  Concord,  four  months  later.  On 


GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY  23 

the  afternoon  of  December  14,  Capt.  John  Langdon  and 
his  men  had  taken  out  of  the  fort  one  hundred  barrels  of 
powder,  and  he  sent  word  to  Sullivan  at  Durham  to  come 
down  and  take  it  up  to  that  town,  hence  Sullivan  and  Cil- 
leyand  Bartlett  and  a  big  crew  of  men  went  to  Portsmouth 
and  took  charge  of  it.  Sullivan  thinking  it  better  to  go  to 
the  fort  and  finish  the  job  which  the  Portsmouth  men  had 
so  successfully  begun. 

"I  went  down  (December  15)  with  a  large  number  of 
men  and  in  the  night  (December  15-16)  went  in  person 
with  gundalos,  took  possession  of  the  fort,  brought  away 
the  remainder  of  the  powder,  the  small  arms,  bayonets, 
and  cartouch  boxes,  together  with  the  cannon  and  ordi- 
nance stores;  I  was  out  all  night  (very  cold)  and  returned 
to  Portsmouth  next  day.  The  gundalos,  with  the  stores, 
were  brought  to  Durham,  after  several  days  spent  in  cut- 
ting ice,  the  Durham  river  being  then  frozen  over;  the 
cannon;  etc.,  was  then  deposited  in  places  of  security." 

Those  "places  of  security"  were  in  the  towns  around 
Durham;  one  place  was  on  Nottingham  Square,  where 
General  Cilley  lived;  another  place  was  in  Madbury,  where 
Major  John  Demerritt  built  a  storage  cellar  under  his 
barn  and  concealed  several  barrels;  some  of  that  powder 
he  carried  to  Medford  in  January  and  February  and  it  was 
used  by  Stark  and  Reed's  regiments  at  the  battle  of  Bun- 
ker Hill,  as  Major  Demeritt  himself  has  stated.  Later 
some  of  it  was  used  in  the  siege  of  Boston. 

After  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  General  Cilley  did 
not  participate  in  civil  affairs  to  any  extent;  he  had  a 
natural  taste  for  military  affairs  and  his  time  was  taken  up 
in  the  performance  of  duties  assigned  him  in  that  line  of 
work  by  the  Colonial  authorities.  Soon  after  the  battles 
of  Lexington  and  Concord  the  Massachusetts  Committee 
of  Safety  organized  the  New  Hampshire  troops  into  two 
regiments,  appointing  John  Stark  colonel  of  the  First, 
and  James  Reid,  colonel  of  the  second;  soon  after  that  the 
Congress  of  New  Hampshire  gave  its  formal  approval  of 


24  GENERAL    JOSEPH    CILLEY 

the  action  of  the  Massachusetts  Committee  in  appointing 
Stark  and  Reid,  and  also  organized  a  Third  Regiment, 
appointing  Enoch  Poor,  colonel,  and  Joseph  Cilley,  major, 
and  assigned  this  regiment  to  coast  guard  duty,  from  Kit- 
tery  to  Salisbury,  Mass.,  thus  commenced  the  work  of  putting 
Portsmouth  in  order  of  defense  against  expected  attacks 
from  the  British  fleet.  They  were  engaged  in  this  work  until 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill;  after  that  battle  Colonel  Poor's 
regiment  was  ordered  to  Cambridge  to  engage  in  the  Siege 
of  Boston,  and  a  new  regiment  under  command  of  Col- 
Joshua  Wingate  was  placed  in  charge  of  Portsmouth,  and 
the  New  Hampshire  coast  in  general.  This  work  became 
very  active  after  the  burning  of  Falmouth  (Portland)  in 
October,  1775,  when  it  was  daily  expected  that  the  British 
fleet  would  attack  the  New  Hampshire  seaport,  and  burn 
it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  the  most  exciting  period  of 
the  war,  as  far  as  New  Hampshire  was  concerned,  though 
it  was  never  in  danger  of  invasion  after  December,  1775. 
At  Winter  Hill,  August  5,  1775,  General  Sullivan 
wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  that  the  army  then  was 
short  of  powder,  to  the  great  amazement  of  General  Wash- 
ington, when  it  was  found  that  they  had  not  a  half  pound 
to  a  man,  exclusive  of  what  they  had  in  their  powder  horns. 
General  Sullivan  appointed  Major  Cilley  as  a  special  mes- 
senger to  carry  his  letter  to  Exeter.  Arriving  there  August 
6,  on  August  7  the  Committe  of  Safety  gave  him  the  fol- 
lowing order: 

In  Committee  of  Safety  August  7,  1775 
To  Major  Joseph  Cilley: 

You  are  desired  as  soon  as  possible  to  apply  to  the  Selectmen  of  the 
Several  Towns  in  this  Colony  with  whom  was  lodged  the  powder  taken 
last  winter  from  Fort  William  and  Mary;  take  an  account  of  what  is  in 
their  custody  respectively  and  request  of  them  forth  with  to  convey  the 
whole  of  it  to  Col.  Nicholas  Oilman  at  Exeter. 

By  Order  of  the  Committee, 
Indorsed  "To  Major  Cilley" 
August  7th  1775 

(  To  be  continued) 


General  Slogepf)  CtUep 

IV 


S  MAJOR  CILLEY  was  one  of  the  men  who 
helped  take  the  powder  from  Portsmouth  and 
carry  it  up  the  Pascataqua  River  to  Durham,  from 
where  it  was  distributed,  he  knew  just  what  towns  to 
which  to  go  and  get  it,  in  that  time  of  distressing  need. 
Some  of  it  had  already  been  used  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  by  Colonels  Stark  and  Reid.  Major  Cilley  attended 
to  the  duty  assigned  him  and  in  due  time  had  the  powder 
on  the  way  to  Winter  Hill  for  use  of  the  soldiers  under 
General  Sullivan's  command.  The  reader  must  bear  in 
mind  that  they  did  not  have  any  telephones,  telegraphs  or 
postoffices,  and  not  very  good  roads  in  those  days.  All 
letters  and  messages  had  to  be  sent  by  special  carriers,  who 
rode  on  horseback,  the  latter  being  the  way  Major  Cilley 
went  from  town  to  town  and  gave  orders  for  moving  the 
powder.  When  it  came  to  carting  the  powder  to  Exeter, 
and  thence  to  Winter  Hill,  the  work  was  done  by  ox  teams; 
they  were  slow,  sturdy  oxen  and  patriots  held  the  goads, 
and  if  slow  they  got  there  without  delay.  That  campaign 
of  1775  was  the  liveliest  New  Hampshire  ever  saw,  and 
Major  Cilley  was  one  of  the  most  active  men.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  foremost  during  the  siege  of  Boston,  from 
August,  1775,  till  the  evacuation,  March  17,  1776.  Occa- 
sionally he  took  a  hand  in  arranging  the  defences  at  Ports- 
mouth Harbor  in  the  fall  of  1775. 

When  the  British  left  Boston,  General  Washington 
anticipated  that  the  next  attaclc  would  be  on  New  York,  so 
he  marched  his  army  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  that  place, 
where  he  waited  and  watched  for  the  movements  of 

25 


26  GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY 

Admiral  Howe.  General  Sullivan's  brigade,  of  which 
Major  Cilley's  regiment  (Third)  was  a  part,  went  to  New 
York  with  Washington.  While  the  siege  of  Boston  was 
going  on,  General  Montgomery  from  Ticonderoga  and  the 
New  Hampshire  troops  under  Benedict  Arnold  from  Cam- 
bridge had  attempted  to  capture  Quebec,  and  failed,  Mont- 
gomery losing  his  life  (Dec.  31,  1775).  The  army  then 
commenced  the  retreat  up  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  pur- 
sued by  the  British  forces.  General  Thomas  was  placed 
in  command  of  the  American  Army. 

To  relieve  and  save  the  army  from  destruction  Gen- 
eral Washington  ordered  General  Sullivan  and  his  brigade 
to  march  as  speedily  as  possible  to  Canada.  Sullivan  left 
New  York  April  22,  1776,  went  up  the  Hudson  river,  then 
overland  to  Ticonderoga,  down  Lake  Champlain  to  the 
Sorel  River,  down  that  river  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  so 
on  until  he  met  and  saved  General  Thomas's  army,  Thomas 
having  died  before  Sullivan  arrived  at  the  point  of  meeting. 
Then  came  the  retreat;  many  of  the  men  sick  with  small- 
pox; but  at  length  General  Sullivan  and  his  army  reached 
Ticonderoga.  The  whole  story  is  thrilling  and  soul-stir- 
ring, the  bravery  and  the  suffering  of  the  men,  the  skill 
and  good  generalship  of  Sullivan,  make  one  of  the  remark- 
able chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Major  Cilley  had  been  promoted  to  Lieut.-Colonel  in  June, 
on  retirement  of  John  McDuffee,  and  was  a  conspicuous, 
brave  and  useful  officer  during  the  Canadian  campaign  of 
rescue.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  kept  his  health  all 
through  it,  while  so  many  of  his  men  were  sick.  When 
Sullivan's  army  reached  Crown  Point  and  went  into  camp, 
Colonel  Trumbull  took  a  look  at  them;  he  says:  "I  did  not 
look  into  a  tent  or  hut  in  which  I  did  not  find  either  a  dead 
or  a  dying  man." 

After  remaining  there  and  at  Ticonderoga  a  while, 
General  Gates  being  the  superior  in  rank  of  Sullivan  and 
in  command,  Sullivan  and  his  brigade  of  New  Hampshire 
(Lt.  Col.  Cilley's  regiment  a  part  of  it)  left  for  New  York 


GENERAL   JOSEPH   CILLEY  27 

and  joined  Washington,  at  some  day  in  the  last  of  July 
1776.  Washington's  army  then  consisted  of  about 
20,000  men,  of  whom  one  fifth  were  sick,  Lieut.  Col.  Cil- 
ley  not  being  one  of  the  list.  Washington  was  socn  re- 
enforced  by  7,000  troops,  mostly  New  England  men. 
Against  them,  on  Staten  Island,  Generals  Clinton  and 
Cornwallis  had  24,000  of  the  best  disciplined,  healthy  and 
well-fed  soldiers  in  the  world.  Clinton  was  preparing  to 
go  over  into  Long  Island,  and  then  attack  Washington, 
who  divining  the  purpose  of  the  British,  sent  a  consider- 
able part  of  his  army  across  East  River  to  Long  Island 
and  placed  General  Greene  in  command  to  meet  Clinton's 
army.  Among  the  troops  who  went  over  were  General 
Sullivan's  brigade,  one  regiment  of  which  was  Lieut.  Colonel 
Cilley's,  the  Third  New  Hampshire.  Previous  to  the  bat- 
tle August  27,  1776,  there  were  several  days  of  manoeuver- 
ing  by  both  armies  to  get  in  touch.  General  Greene  was 
taken  sick  and  General  Sullivan  took  his  place  for  a  while, 
then  General  Putnam  was  put  in  chief  command  and  held 
it  until  the  defeat  and  retreat  were  completed.  It  is  not 
the  purpose  of  this  article  to  describe  the  battle  in  detail. 
Suffice  to  say  that  when  Sullivan  was  surprised  and  taken 
prisoner,  Lieut.-Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  and  most  of  the 
other  New  Hampshire  troops  fought  their  way  through  the 
British  lines  which  surrounded  them  and  retreated  success- 
fully across  East  River  to  New  York.  That  was  the  first 
actual  fighting  in  battle  in  which  Cilley  was  engaged,  and 
he  showed  himself  to  be  a  brave,  fearless  and  skillful 
officer. 

General  Carleton  compelled  Washington  to  begin  his 
retreat  out  of  New  York  City  September  13  1776.  He 
crossed  the  Hudson  to  New  Jersey  and  through  that  State  to 
Pennsylvania;  Cilley  and  the  other  New  Hampshire  troops 
were  with  him.  Then  followed  the  battle  of  Trenton 
December  26,  1776,  and  the  battle  of  Princeton,  January 
3,  1777.  When  the  British  had  driven  Washington's  army 
across  the  Delaware  River  General  Howe  felt  sure  that  the 


28  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

back  of  the  "rebellion"  was  broken,  and  his  army  was 
taking  things  easy,  encamped  along  the  Jersey  bank  of  the 
Delaware.  Lieut.  Colonel  Cilley  was  with  his  old  Dur- 
ham friend,  General  Sullivan,  when  Washington's  army 
crossed  the  Delaware,  and  on  that  cold  winter  night  when 
the  ice  was  forming  and  its  surface  was  covered  with  float- 
ing pieces.  The  current  was  swift  and  the  night  was  dark. 
Towards  midnight  a  storm  of  snow  and  sleet  set  in  and 
through  this  they  crossed  to  the  Jersey  shore.  This  must 
have  reminded  Sullivan  and  Cilley  of  the  capture  they  had 
together  made  at  Fort  William  and  Mary  at  New  Castle  two 
years  before.  After  crossing  the  river  Sullivan  marched  his 
part  of  the  army  along  the  road  by  the  river,  and  the  cap- 
ture of  the  British  force  at  Trenton  soon  followed;  the 
grand  victory  need  not  be  further  described  here;  Sullivan 
and  Cilley  were  among  the  heroes. 

At  Princeton,  where  Washington  outgeneralled  Corn- 
wallis  by  the  brilliant  camp  fires  and  shrewdly  managed 
flank  movement  of  his  army,  the  New  Hampshire  troops 
under  Colonels  Stark,  Reid  and  Poor  were  in  the  thick  of 
the  fight  and  put  to  flight  the  British  55th  and  4Oth  regi- 
ments, which  ended  the  battle.  That  Lieut.  Colonel  Cilley 
did  his  share  of  the  fighting  is  a  certain  fact.  Washing- 
ton then  marched  his  army  to  Morristown  and  went  into 
winter  quarters,  the  New  Hampshire  regiments  being  with 
him.  During  January  and  February,  1777,  these  regi- 
ments were  reorganized.  Col.  John  Stark  becoming 
indignant  because  Col.  Enoch  Poor  was  appointed  brigadier 
general  over  him  by  Congress,  would  not  serve  longer  as 
Colonel  of  the  First  Regiment.  So  Lieut.  Colonel  Cilley 
of  the  Third  Regiment  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  First 
Regiment  in  place  of  Stark,  April  2,  1777. 

SERVICE    AS    COLONEL    OF    THE    FIRST    N.    H.    REGIMENT 

Joseph  Cilley  was  promoted  to  Colonel  of  the  First 
New  Hampshire  Regiment  February  22,  1777;  he  received 


GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY  29 

his  commission  from  congress  April  2,  1777,  he  being  then 
at  Morristown,  New  Jessey;  soon  after  he  marched  with 
his  regiment  to  Ticonderoga,  as  part  of  General  Poor's 
Brigade.  This  move  was  made  necessary  by  the  news  that 
a  large  British  force  was  on  the  march  from  Canada  to  that 
place,  via  Lake  Champlain  and  Crown  Point.  It  was  said 
that  General  Burgoyne  had  it  in  mind  to  march  down 
through  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  to  Boston  and  re- 
capture what  the  British  had  been  compelled  to  give  up 
when  Washington  forced  them  to  evacuate  that  town 
March  17,  1776. 

Colonel  Cilley  encamped  his  regiment  in  the  "Old 
French  Lines,"  in  May,  having  tents  for  their  habitations. 
The  regiments  of  Colonels  Scammell  and  Dearborn  were 
compatriots  on  the  same  beautiful  camping  ground,  and 
General  Enoch  Poor  was  in  command  at  Ticonderoga.  It 
is  fortunate  for  the  historian  that  one  man  ot  Colonel  Cil- 
ley's  regiment  kept  a  daily  record  of  the  events  in  which 
the  regiment  participated  for  three  years  from  May  13, 
1777,  to  May,  1781.  That  man  was  Thomas  Blake,  of 
Lebanon,  N.  H.,  who  was  Lieutenant  of  one  of  the  com- 
panies. The  diary  was  published  in  1868  by  Mr.  Frederick 
Kidder  of  Boston.  Lieutentant  Blake  started  on  his  jour- 
ney from  Lebanon  May  14,  and  reached  Fort  Independ- 
ence, on  the  Vermont  side  of  Lake  Champlain,  May  21, 
and  joined  his  regiment  that  day.  He  says  it  was  a  very 
hard  tramp  of  seven  days  over  very  bad  roads. 

General  Poor  was  superceded  in  command  of  Ticon- 
deroga, June  n,  by  Major-General  St.  Clair.  The  enemy 
had  begun  to  make  their  appearance  then,  and  Colonel 
Cilley's  regiment  had  its  first  encounter  with  the  advance 
guard,  on  June  17,  the  second  anniversary  of  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  in  which  the  regiment  had  taken  a  conspic- 
uous and  important  part,  under  command  of  its  first  Col- 
onel, John  Stark,  Cilley  not  then  being  a  member  of  the 
regiment.  In  that  first  encounter  Colonel  Cilley's  men 
did  not  suffer  loss,  but  they  killed  one  of  the  enemy  and 


30  GENERAL   JOSEPH   CILLEY 

dispersed  the  rest.  On  June  30,  the  enemy  began  to 
arrive  in  force,  in  numerous  boats,  landing  troops  on  both 
sides  of  the  Lake  and  stationing  their  ships  across  the 
water  from  shore  to  shore.  On  July  ist  the  enemy  got 
possession  of  Mt.  Hope,  about  one  mile  from  Colonel 
Cilley's  regiment,  and  the  next  day  the  regiment  had  a 
sharp  encounter  with  the  enemy;  five  of  our  men  were 
killed,  four  were  wounded  and  one  man  was  taken  prisoner; 
Colonel  Cilley's  son  Jonathan,  a  boy  of  fifteen  years  who 
was  serving  as  an  aid  on  his  father's  staff.  The  boy  was 
retained  as  a  prisoner  for  a  while,  but  when  General  Bur- 
goyne  learned  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  colonel  of  a  New 
Hampshire  regiment  he  granted  him  a  pass  to  return  to 
the  American  lines  and  permitted  him  to  select  any  article 
of  clothing  he  might  desire  from  the  large  amount  Bur- 
goyne's  men  had  captured  from  the  American  army,  when 
it  beat  such  a  hasty  retreat  from  Ticonderoga.  Jonathan 
was  also  provided  with  an  old  horse  and  a  pair  of  saddle 
bags  containing  proclamations  by  Burgoyne,  ordering  the 
rebel  Americans  to  surrender.  He  overtook  his  father 
somewhere  on  the  line  of  retreat  from  Lake  Champlain  to 
North  River.  Colonel  Cilley  took  one  of  the  proclama- 
tions and  read  it  aloud  in  the  presence  of  his  regiment; 
then  ordering  all  of  the  circulars  to  be  torn  in  pieces  and 
scattered  to  the  wind,  he  said: 

"Thus  may  the  British  Army  be  scattered!" 
During  this  disastrous  retreat,  at  night,  when  every- 
thing was  in  confusion,  Gen.  Kosciuszko,  not  being  able 
to  find  his  own  horse,  took  the  first  that  came  in  his  way. 
It  belonged  to  Adjutant  Caleb  Stark  of  Colonel  Cilley's 
staff.  When  Stark  came  for  his  horse  and  not  finding  it 
where  he  left  it,  proceeded  on  foot  until  daylight,  when  he 
discovered  the  Polish  general  mounted  on  his  horse  and 
demanded  his  property,  which  the  other  refused  to  give  up. 
Kosciuszko  was  a  highly  educated  military  officer,  then  31 
years  old;  Stark  was  a  youth  of  18  years;  the  Polish  officer 
was  very  impulsive,  and  young  Stark  was  a  "chip  of  the  old 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  31 

block,"  having  served  with  his  father  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill;  high  words  ensued  between  the  Pole  and  the  Yankee. 
Stark  challenged  him  to  fight  a  duel;  Kosciuszko  replied, 
that  "a  subaltern  is  not  of  sufficient  rank  to  meet  a  briga- 
dier general." — "If  he  is  not,"  said  a  person  coming  up  on 
foot,  "I  am.  This  officer,  general,  is  my  adjutant,  the 
horse  is  his  property,  and  his  demand  is  a  proper  one." 
"Ah,  Colonel  Cilley,"  replied  the  general,  "if  that  is  the 
case  I  will  give  up  the  horse."  The  adjutant  recovered 
his  horse;  but  in  half  an  hour  afterward,  Colonel  Cilley, 
who  had  lost  his  own  horse,  said,  "Stark,  I  am  tired,  you 
must  lend  me  your  horse,"  which  request  was  cheerfully 
complied  with,  as  Cilley  was  a  man  of  43  years.  That 
retreat  from  Ticonderoga  and  the  summer  campaign  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  Hudson  river,  was  a  very  trying  time  to 
the  regiment  and  its  officers. 

The  abandonment  of  Ticonderoga  began  very  sud- 
denly, as  the  enemy  came  upon  the  Americans  in  an  unex- 
pected, and  as  was  supposed,  impossible  quarter.  On  the 
night  of  July  6,  Lieutenant  Blake  says,  "The  First  Regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  strike  its  tents  about  one  o'oclock  in 
the  morning,  and  parade  as  soon  as  possible  with  packs  and 
provisions.  As  soon  as  we  were  paraded  we  marched  over 
Mt.  Independence,  where  we  found  all  in  moving  posture, 
the  boats  and  batteaux  chiefly  loaded,  the  provisions  not  all 
taken  in,  the  clothing  chests  all  broken  open,  the  clothing 
scattered  about  and  carried  off  by  all  who  were  disposed  to 
take,  and  everything  in  great  confusion.  About  sunrise 
the  last  of  the  boats  and  the  rear  guard  left  the  Mount,  by 
which  time  the  enemy  were  in  the  'French  lines.'  The 
body  of  the  army  marched  as  far  as  Castleton,  which  is 
about  30  miles,  and  the  rear  guard  with  the  men  who  could 
not  keep  up  with  the  body,  tarried  at  Hubbardtown  six 
miles  back." 

Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  was  not  of  the  number  that 
"tarried  at  Hubbardtown"  and  had  a  lively  fight  with  the 
advance  guard  of  the  enemy,  but  kept  on  and  after  a  very 


32  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

fatiguing  march  of  five  days  came  to  North  or  Hudson 
River,  along  the  banks  of  which,  several  weeks  later, 
occurred  the  battles  which  led  to  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne  at  Saratoga.  From  that  date  to  September  10,  the 
regiment  was  engaged  in  hard  work,  along  the  river,  at 
various  points,  but  they  had  no  righting  to  do  with  the 
enemy.  On  Sept.  10,  Lieutenant  Blake  says: — "We  began 
to  fortify  on  the  heights  back  of  Stillwater,  and  built  a 
floating  bridge  across  the  river,  etc."  On  the  I2th  they 
marched  up  the  river  about  three  miles,  and  encamped  on 
the  high  ground,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  river,  known 
by  the  name  of  Bemis's  Heights,  where  they  fortified,  the 
enemy  then  being  at  Saratoga.  There  they  prepared, 
with  the  rest  of  the  army,  for  the  first  great  battle  with 
Burgoyne,  which  took  place  on  the  igth  and  concerning 
which  Lieutenant  Blake  very  modestly  says: 

"About  12  o'clock  (noon)  the  First  New  Hampshire 
Regiment  marched  out  to  meet  the  enemy.  We  met  them 
about  one  mile  from  our  encampment,  where  the  engage- 
ment began  very  closely,  and  continued  about  20  minutes, 
in  which  time  we  lost  so  many  men,  and  received  no  re- 
enforcement,  that  we  were  obliged  to  retreat,  but  before 
we  got  to  the  encampment  we  met  two  regiments  coming 
out  as  a  re-enforcement,  when  we  returned  and  renewed 
the  attack,  which  continued  very  warm  until  dark,  at  which 
time  we  withdrew  and  retired  to  our  encampment.  In  this 
engagement  the  enemy  had  two  field  pieces  in  the  field, 
which  we  took  three  or  four  times,  but  as  it  was  in  the 
woods,  they  were  not  removed." 


General  31o$epf)  CtUep 

V 

By  JOHN  SCALES,  A.  B.,  A    M. 

SERVICE    IN    THE    FIRST    N.  H.  REGIMENT — (  Continued) 

BRIEF  of  the  battle  may  better  show  just  what 
Colonel  Cilley  did  with  his  regiment,  At  n 
o'clock  A.  M.,  the  booming  of  cannon  in  Burgoyne's 
army  gave  the  signal  that  he  was  about  to  advance  on  the 
American  lines.  At  noon  General  Arnold  gave  the  order, 
by  permission  of  General  Gates,  to  Col.  Daniel  Morgan, 
commander  of  the  famous  regiment  of  riflemen,  and  to 
Colonels  Cilley,  Dearborn  and  Scammell  of  the  New 
Hampshire  regiments,  to  attack  the  Canadians  and  Indians, 
who  were  swarming  on  the  hills  in  advance  of  Burgoyne's 
right.  These  were  driven  back  and  pursued.  Morgan's 
riflemen  became  scattered,  were  recalled,  and  with  the 
New  England  troops  under  Cilley,  Dearborn  and  Scam- 
mell, another  furious  charge  was  made.  After  a  sharp 
engagement  in  which  Morgan's  horse  was  shot  under  him, 
the  combatants  withdrew  to  their  respective  lines.  Mean- 
while Burgoyne  had  moved  rapidly  upon  the  American 
center  and  left.  At  the  same  time  the  vigilant  Arnold 
attempted  to  turn  the  British  right.  Masked  by  thick 
woods,  neither  party  was  now  certain  of  the  movements 
of  the  other  and  they  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  met  in 
a  ravine  at  Freeman's  Farm,  at  which  Burgoyne  had 
halted.  There  the  battle  raged  desperately  for  awhile. 
Arnold  was  pressed  back,  when  Fraser,  by  a  quick  move- 
ment, called  up  some  German  troops  from  the  British  cen- 
ter to  his  aid.  Arnold  rallied  his  men,  and  with  New  Eng- 
land troops  led  by  Colonels  Cilley,  Dearborn,  Scammell 

33 


34  GENERAL   JOSEPH   CILLEY 

and  others,  struck  the  enemy  with  such  heavy  blows  that 
his  lines  began  to  waver  and  fall  into  confusion.  The  Brit- 
ish received  re-enforcements  and  the  battle  continued. 
The  British  ranks  were  becoming  fearfully  thinned,  when 
Riedesel  fell  heavily  upon  the  American  flank  with  infantry 
and  artillery  and  they  gave  way.  A  lull  in  the  battle  suc- 
ceeded, but  at  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  contest  was 
renewed  with  greater  fury.  At  length  the  British,  fear- 
fully assailed  by  bullet  and  bayonet,  recoiled  and  fell  back. 
It  was  there  that  General  Arnold  was  in  the  battle  against 
General  Gates's  orders,  and  the  victory  was  saved  for  the 
American  army.  For  three  hours  the  battle  raged.  Like 
an  ocean  tide  the  warriors  surged  backward  and  forward, 
winning  and  losing  victory  alternately.  Night  closed  the 
contest  and  both  armies  rested  on  their  arms  until  morn- 
ing, when  both  withdrew  to  their  own  lines.  That  ended 
the  battle  at  Bemis's  Heights. 

The  Battle  at  Stillwater,  two  miles  away,  followed  on 
October  7,  of  which  Lieutenent  Blake  says  in  his  Journal: 

"A  detachment  of  the  enemy  marched  upon  the  left 
of  our  army,  consisting  of  the  grenadiers  and  light  infan- 
try, with  six  field  pieces  and  posted  themselves  on  a  small 
height  in  a  cleared  field,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  our 
advance  guard,  where  they  began  a  cannonade  upon  the 
riflemen,  and  the  three  New  Hampshire  regiments  were 
ordered  out  to  attack  them,  and  after  a  very  warm  dispute 
of  about  half  an  hour,  the  enemy  were  obliged  to  quit  the 
field  and  retreat  to  their  works,  which  they  did  in  great  con- 
fusion, their  horses  being  chiefly  killed,  and  were  obliged 
to  leave  their  field  pieces  which  fell  into  our  hands,  together 
with  about  50  prisoners,  and  our  army  followed  hard  after 
them,  and  coming  on  the  lines  where  the  German  were 
stationed,  forced  them  and  took  a  number  of  prisoners,  two 
field  pieces  and  several  waggons  loaded  with  ammunition 
and  baggage  and  by  the  time  we  had  what  we  had  taken  at 
the  line  it  was  almost  dark  and  the  troops  that  had  been  in 
action  were  relieved  by  fresh  troops  from  our  encampment, 


GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY  35 

who  tarried  at  the  lines  we  had  taken  all  night,  the  British 
lying  about  a  hundred  rods  distant.  The  next  day  the 
enemy  moved  their  baggage  and  artillery  back  from  their 
front  lines,  and  in  the  night  marched  their  whole  army  to 
Saratoga,  leaving  their  sick  and  wounded  in  some  large 
hospital  tents,  with  several  surgeons  to  attend  them." 

From  full  reports  of  the  battle  it  appears  that  on 
October  7,  1777,  the  whole  British  army  moved  from  their 
quarters  at  Saratoga,  towards  the  left  wing  of  the  Amer- 
ican army,  where  Colonel  Cilley  was.  Burgoyne  pressed 
with  1,500  picked  men,  eight  brass  cannon,  and  two  how- 
itzers, leaving  his  main  army  on  the  heights,  in  command 
of  Brigadiers  Sprecht  and  Hamilton,  and  the  redoubts 
near  the  river  with  Brigadier-General  Hall.  This  move- 
ment was  discerned  before  the  British  were  ready  for 
battle.  The  drums  of  the  American  advance  guard  beat 
to  arms.  The  alarm  ran  all  along  the  lines.  General 
Gates  inquired  the  cause  of  the  alarm,  and  then  ordered 
Colonel  Morgan,  with  his  sharpshooting  riflemen  to  "begin 
the  game." 

Morgan  soon  gained  a  good  position  on  the  British 
right,  while  General  Poor  with  his  New  Hampshire  brigade, 
followed  by  General  Ten  Broeck  with  New  Yorkers 
advanced  against  their  left.  It  was  between  three  and  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  General  Poor  and  those  with 
him  astonished  General  Burgoyne,  as  he  was  about  to 
advance,  by  thunder  of  cannon  on  his  left,  and  the  crack 
of  rifles  on  his  right.  Poor  had  pressed  up  the  thick 
wooded  slope  unobserved  on  which  the  British  forces 
under  command  of  Majors  Acland  and  Williams  were 
posted.  The  British  did  not  observe  the  New  Hampshire 
troops  until  they  were  near  the  batteries,  which  were  cap- 
tured after  a  struggle,  in  which  the  leader  of  the  British 
grenadiers  was  severely  wounded,  and  Major  Williams  of 
the  artillery  was  made  prisoner.  Five  times  one  of  the 
cannon  was  taken  and  retaken.  When  the  British  fell 
back,  and  the  gun  remained  with  the  Americans,  Colonel 


36  GENERAL    JOSEPH    CILLEY 

Cilley  leaped  upon  it,  waved  his  sword  over  his  head,  dedi- 
cated the  piece  to  the  "American  Cause,"  and,  turning  it 
upon  the  foe,  he  opened  its  destructive  energy  upon  the 
enemy  with  their  own  ammunition,  amid  an  avalanche  of 
applause  from  the  New  Hampshire  brigade,  and  others 
who  saw  the  act. 

Sir  Francis  Clarke,  Burgoyne's  chief  aide,  who  was 
sent  to  secure  the  cannon,  was  mortally  wounded  by  it  and 
made  prisoner,  and  was  sent  to  Gates's  tent.  The  whole 
eight  cannon  and  the  possession  of  the  field  remained  with 
the  Americans.  That  was  Colonel  Cilley's  part  in  that 
remarkable  battle  which  caused  the  surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne's whole  army  ten  days  later,  October  17,  at  Saratoga, 
at  which  Colonel  Cilley  took  a  conspicuous  part. 

That  was  the  end  of  Colonel  Cilley's  military  cam- 
paign of  1777.  He  went  south  with  his  regiment  by  slow 
marches,  and  finally  went  into  camp  at  Valley  Forge, 
December  23,  1777. 

COL.    CILLEY    AT    VALLEY    FORGE    AND    MONMOUTH 

On  November  21,  1777,  Colonel  Cilley  marched  his 
regiment,  in  General  Sullivan's  brigade,  to  Whitemarsh,  a 
beautiful  valley  about  13  miles  from  Independence  Hall  in 
Philadelphia,  and  there  he  joined  the  main  army  under 
command  of  General  Washington.  December  5,  early  in 
the  morning,  he  had  information  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  British  army  was  leaving  Philadelphia  to  meet  Wash- 
ington's army;  upon  receiving  this  news,  Colonel  Cilley, 
with  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  had  his  regiment  strike  their 
tents  and  load  them  into  wagons,  together  with  their  bag- 
gage, and  moved  off,  and  the  army  paraded.  In  the  after- 
noon the  enemy  appeared  on  an  eminence  in  front  of  them, 
but  at  a  distance  of  three  miles,  where  they  remained  all 
night,  and  Washington's  army  held  its  position,  awaiting 
and  expecting  to  be  attacked.  December  6,  the  British 
marched  towards  the  left  of  the  American  army,  but  made 
no  attack,  while  Washington's  army  remained  under  arms 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  37 

all  day.  On  the  /th  a  few  shots  were  exchanged  but  no 
battle.  On  the  8th  the  American  army  remained  quietly 
under  arms  all  day  and  night,  up  to  2  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  9th,  when  the  rifle  regiment  and  three  brigades 
marched  out  in  order  to  attack  the  enemy  on  their  own 
grounds  at  daybreak;  when  the  British  saw  them  coming 
prepared  for  battle  they  moved  off  towards  Philadelphia. 

On  the  morning  of  December  1 1,  about  an  hour  before 
day,  Colonel  Cilley,  with  others,  received  orders  to  prepare 
his  regiment  for  a  march,  about  daybreak,  to  meet  a  party 
of  the  enemy  who  were  foraging  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Schuylkill  river.  They  marched  about  ten  miles  and  came 
to  a  bridge;  two  brigades  crossed;  the  rest  were  following, 
but  the  enemy  met  them  and  took  possession  of  the 
heights  in  front,  and  of  each  side  of  the  road  leading  from 
the  bridge;  this  move  compelled  our  army  to  retreat  over 
the  river  again,  and  there  halted,  so  that  neither  army 
dared  to  attempt  to  cross  the  river.  Colonel  Cilley  kept 
his  regiment  there  until  almost  night,  when  he,  with  a  part 
of  the  army,  marched  up  the  river  to  Sweed's  ford,  two 
miles,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  crossing  at  that  place. 
While  there,  oh  the  I2th,  about  sunset,  some  of  the  Amer- 
ican horsemen  brought  into  camp  two  Hessians  they  had 
taken,  who  gave  intelligence  that  there  were  about  4,000  of 
the  enemy  over  the  Schuylkill  after  forage;  General  Sulli- 
van, who  was  in  command  of  the  brigade  of  which  Cilley's 
regiment  was  a  part,  immediately  crossed  the  river  and 
marched  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy;  on  reaching  the  Gulph 
mills  he  learned  that  the  enemy  had  returned  to  Phili- 
delphia  with  their  plunder.  General  Sullivan  and  his 
brigade  remained  there  until  December  16,  when  the  whole 
army  marched  to  Valley  Forge  and  proceeded  to  encamp 
for  the  winter. 

When  all  had  reached  there,  the  grounds  were  staked 
out  on  the  23d  for  the  army  to  build  log  huts  in  which  to 
pass  the  winter;  there  were  about  11,000  men  to  be  pro- 
vided for,  which  work  required  about  a  week  to  get  the  vil- 


38  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

lage  in  order;  the  huts  were  built  of  round  logs  and  most 
of  them  were  covered  with  straw  and  earth;  they 
were  in  two  lines,  extending  from  the  Schuylkill  river 
about  a  mile  and  a  half.  This  locality  is  about  22  miles 
from  Independence  Hall.  In  the  beginning  of  February 
each  brigade  was  ordered  to  build  a  breastwork  in  front  of 
their  own  huts,  which  was  done  in  a  few  days.  The  whole 
army  lay  there,  except  two  brigades  at  Washington,  down 
the  Delaware  river,  and  also  about  three  hundred  men  at 
Reednar,  7  miles  from  camp;  and  200  at  Gulph  Mills,  about 
the  same  distance;  each  of  these  two  last-named  parties 
was  relieved  every  week.  There  were  likewise  guards  kept 
about  one  mile  distant  from  camp,  which  formed  a  chain  of 
sentinels  around  the  whole  encampment;  these  were 
relieved  daily.  The  army  lay  in  this  posture  during  the 
winter  and  until  May,  1778.  No  attack  was  made  on 
them;  but  it  was  an  awful  winter  which  Colonel  Cilley  and 
his  men  had  to  endure. 

That  place  was  chosen  because  it  was  farther  from  the 
dangers  of  sudden  attack  from  the  enemy,  and  also  it 
could  more  easily  afford  protection  for  the  Congress  sitting 
at  York,  having  been  driven  out  at  Philadelphia,  which  was 
then  occupied  by  the  British  army.  Bloodstains  made  by 
the  lacerated  feet  of  its  poorly  shod  soldiers,  marked  the 
line  of  their  march  to  Valley  Forge.  In  the  camp  they 
suffered  with  cold  and  often  had  very  short  rations,  for 
food  was  as  scarce  as  their  clothing  was  poor. 

The  British,  under  General  Howe,  had  full  possession 
of  Philadelphia  and  of  the  Delaware  river  below,  and 
Pennsylvania  was  divided  among  its  people,  and  in  its 
Legislature,  by  political  factions.  General  uneasiness  pre- 
vailed; and  when  Washington  sought  refuge  at  Valley 
Forge,  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  adopted  a  remon- 
strance against  the  measure.  To  this  cruel  missive  Wash- 
ington replied,  after  censuring  the  quartermaster-general 
(Mifflin),  a  Pennsylvania!!,  for  neglect  of  duty  in  not  sup- 
plying the  soldiers  with  proper  food  and  clothing,  he  says: 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    C1LLEY  39 

"For  the  want  of  a  two-days  supply  of  provisions,  an 
opportunity  scarcely  ever  offered  of  taking  an  advantage  of 
the  enemy,  that  has  not  been  either  totally  obstructed  or 
greatly  impeded.  Men  are  confined  in  hospitals  or  in 
farmers'  houses  for  want  of  shoes.  We  have  this  day 
(Dec.  23)  no  less  than  2,873  men  m  camp  unfit  for  duty 
because  they  are  barefooted  and  otherwise  naked.  Our 
whole  strength  in  continental  troops  amounts  to  no  more 
than  8,200  in  camp  fit  for  duty.  Since  the  4th  inst.  our 
numbers  fit  for  duty,  from  hardships  and  exposures,  have 
decreased  nearly  2,000  men.  Numbers  are  still  obliged  to  sit 
all  night  by  their  campfires  to  keep  from  freezing.  Gentle- 
men reprobates  going  into  winter  quarters  as  much  as  if 
they  thought  the  soldiers  were  made  of  sticks  or  stones. 
I  can  assure  those  gentlemen  that  it  is  a  much  easier  and 
less  distressing  thing  to  draw  remonstrances  in  a  comfort- 
able room,  by  a  good  fireside,  than  to  occupy  a  cold,  bleak 
hill,  and  sleep  under  frost  and  snow  without  clothes  or 
blankets.  However,  although  they  seem  to  have  little 
feeling  for  the  naked  and  distressed  soldiers,  I  feel  super- 
abundantly for  them;  and  from  my  soul  I  pity  those  mis- 
eries which  is  neither  in  my  power  to  relieve,  or  prevent." 

That  is  what  General  Washington  said,  and  thus  we 
have  the  picture  of  the  scenes  and  conditions  which  Col- 
onel Cilley  and  his  soldiers  had  to  endure  until  the  warm 
weather  of  spring.  On  May  6  a  great  rejoicing  prevailed 
in  the  camp  on  account  of  the  news  of  the  alliance  of 
France.  Washington  ordered  all  the  prisoners  to  be 
released  that  were  then  in  confinement  in  the  Continental 
Army.  The  whole  army  was  drawn  up  in  two  lines  and 
fired  a  volley,  from  right  to  left  of  the  front,  and  then 
from  left  to  right  of  the  rear  lines;  which  was  repeated 
three  times.  It  was  a  great  day  of  rejoicing,  especially  for 
Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  whose  men  had  suffered  severely 
from  sickness,  but  had  now  largely  recovered. 

In  the  battle  of  Monmouth  which  followed  on  June 
28,  Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  was  closely  engaged  and  he 


40  GENERAL    JOSEPH    CILLEY 

and  his  men  behaved  with  such  bravery  as  to  merit  the  par- 
ticular approbation  of  the  illustrious  Washington  after  the 
battle  was  over  and  the  treachery  of  Gen.  Charles  Lee  was 
thwarted,  he  having  ordered  a  retreat  when  an  advance 
should  have  been  made  against  General  Howe's  Army, 
which  was  on  its  march  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York. 
It  was  when  Washington  met  Lee  on  that  retreat  that  the 
illustrious  commander  showed  his  temper  at  its  white  heat 
and  bestowed  on  the  traitorous  commander  some  righteous 
oaths,  as  became  the  occasion.  No  doubt  Colonel  Cilley 
applauded  as  Washington  swore. 

Lieutenant  Thomas  Blake  says  in  his  Journal  of  that 
period:  "June  18  .  .At  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Gen. 
Lee's  division  marched,  consisting  of  Gen.  Poor's,  Varnum's 
and  Huntington's  brigades  three  miles  over  Schuylkill 
bridge  and  encamped." — "June  19,  .  .  .  Marched  iSmiles." 
—"June  20,  ...  At  12  o'clock  we  came  to  the  Delaware 
river,  and  crossed  at  Carrel  1's  ferry;  marched  3  miles  and 
encamped  in  Am  well." — "June  21,  .  .  .  Gen.  Lee's  division 
lay  still,  and  Gen.  Washington  crossed  the  river  (Delaware) 
and  another  division  of  the  army." — "June  22.  .  .  .  The 
whole  army  crossed  the  river  and  encamped  in  Amwell, 
excepting  a  party  (under  Gen.  Arnold)  that  marched  to 
take  possession  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  Howe's  army 
had  departed."  "June  23,  ...  The  whole  army  marched 
down  towards  the  enemy,  leaving  the  tents  and  baggage, 
as  far  as  Hopewell  township,  and  halted;  but  Col.  Morgan 
with  his  regiment  of  riflemen  and  a  detachment  under  his 
command,  marched  toward  the  enemy." 

"June  24.  .  .  .  The  army  lay  still;  the  tents  came  up 
and  were  pitched;  a  detachment  went  forward  under  Gen. 
Scott." 

"June  25  ...  March  to  Kingston,  and  another  detach- 
ment went  forward  under  command  of  Marquis  Dela- 
fayette." 

"June  26  ...  Marched  to  Cranberry  Town  and  Gen. 
Lee  went  forward  with  two  brigades." 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   CILLEY  41 

"June  27.  ...  Marched  to  Cranberry  meadows." 
"June  28.  ...  Marched  to  English  town  and  there 
left  our  packs  and  coats,  the  weather  being  very  warm, 
and  proceeded  as  fast  as  possible  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
who  were  then  near  Monmouth  Court  House.  The  for- 
ward detachment  had  attacked  the  enemy,  and  Gen.  Wash- 
ington met  them  on  the  retreat,  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  Court  House.  Our  artillery  set  in  very  briskly, 
causing  a  heavy  cannonade  on  both  sides,  holding  for  some 
time  until  the  enemy  retreated.  Our  army  pursued  about 
a  mile,  and  then  left  them.  The  enemy  encamped  that 
night  near  the  Court  House;  and  in  the  night  moved  off, 
leaving  all  their  wounded  that  were  not  able  to  march, 
, numbering  about  60,  of  whom  were  five  commissioned 
officers." 

"June  29,  ...  Two  brigades  marched  down  to  the 
Court  House,  as  a  covering  party  while  they  buried  the 
dead.  The  number  of  those  buried  were  about  three  hun- 
dred, that  of  ours  sixty.  After  the  dead  were  buried  the 
whole  army  marched  back  to  Englishtown." 
"June  30.  ...  Lay  still  at  Englishtown." 
"July  i,  ...  The  whole  army  marched  to  Spotwod, 
the  weather  being  so  excessively  hot,  the  road  for  the 
most  part  being  through  Pitch  pine  plain,  that  near  one 
third  of  the  men  were  so  overcome  that  they  were  obliged 
to  stop,  many  were  not  able  to  march  until  the  cool  of  the 
evening,  ami  some  were  so  overcome  that  they  were  obliged 
to  be  conyeyea/in  wagons." 

This^was  the  end  of  Colonel  Cilley's  regiment's  con- 
flict wijj'fi  the  enemy  in  1778.  By  various  routes  they 
marched  from  time  to  time,  through  New  Jersey,  New 
York  and  Connecticut,  to  Redding  in  that  State,  where 
they  arrived  December  2,  built  huts,  went  into  camp  and 
spent  the  winter  comfortably  and  quietly.  For  a  while  in 
November  General  Poor's  brigade,  of  which  Colonel  Cil- 
ley's regiment  was  a  part,  had  charge  of  German  troops 
that  were  captured  with  General  Burgoyne,  they  being  on 


42  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

their   way  to   Virginia.     Colonel  Cilley's   next  campaign 
began  in  May,  1779. 

COLONEL   JOSEPH    CILLEY    IN    THE   CAMPAIGN    AGAINST   THE 
NEW   YORtf   INDIANS 

Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  remained  in  camp  at  Red- 
ding, Conn.,  from  December  4,  1778,  until  the  loth  of 
April,  1779,  and  then  marched  to  the  high  lands  on  North 
River,  where  they  went  into  huts  and  remained  until  May 
9,  when  they  broke  camp  and  marched  to  Easton,  Penn. 
Arriving  here  on  the  i8th,  they  took  quarters  in  the  Court 
House  and  other  spare  buildings.  On  the  igth  General 
Sullivan  arrived  and  took  command  of  the  Western  army, 
which  had  been  aasembled  there.  The  time  from  that 
date  to  the  29th  of  May  was  spent  in  getting  things  in 
order  for  the  difficult  march  against  the  Indians.  On  the 
28th  they  marched  12  miles  to  Wyoming;  on  the  2gth  they 
marched  15  miles  to  Pocono  Point;  on  the  3Oth  they  went 
10  miles  to  Tuckhannock;  on  the  3ist  they  marched  six 
miles  to  Locust  Hill,  where  Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  came 
up  with  Colonel  Courtland  and  Colonel  Spencer's  regi- 
ments, who  were  cutting  a  road  through  to  Wyoming. 
They  pitched  their  tents  and  went  to  work  with  those  regi- 
ments cutting  trees  and  making  corduroy  paths  where 
necessary.  They  worked  on  this  road  building  until  June 
7,  when  they  moved  their  tents  forward  eight  miles;  June 
9  they  moved  the  tents  forward  two  miles  and  encamped 
June  ii  they  moved  their  tents  forward  five  miles  to  Bul- 
lock's house,  where  the  tents  remained  three  days.  On 
the  I4th  they  marched  seven  miles  to  Wyoming,  having 
made  the  distance  of  65  miles  through  the  forests  from 
Easton.  On  June  I7th  Colonels  Cilley's,  Courtland's  and 
Spencer's  regiments  marched  up  the  river  to  Jacob's 
Plains,  four  miles  and  encamped  and  remained  so  until 
June  23,  when  General  Sullivan  arrived  with  five  regiments. 
On  July  4,  Colonels  Cilley's  and  Courtland's  regiments 
crossed  the  river  and  marched  down  two  miles  towards 


GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY  43 

Wyoming  and  encamped  with  the  rest  of  General  Poor's 
brigade. 

On  July  5  General  Poor  made  an  entertainment  for 
the  officers  of  his  brigade  in  honor  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  after  dinner  the  following  toasts  were 
drunk,  and  appropriate  responses  were  made  by  various 
officers:  I.  The  United  States.  2.  July  4,  1776,  the 
memorable.  3.  The  grand  council  of  America.  4.  Gen- 
eral Washington  and  the  Army.  5.  The  King  and 
Queen  of  France.  6.  General  Sullivan  and  the  Western 
expedition.  7.  May  the  Councillors  of  America  be  wise, 
and  their  soldiers  invincible.  8.  A  successful  and  deci- 
sive campaign.  9.  Civilization  or  death  to  all  savages. 
10.  The  immortal  memory  of  those  heroes  who  have  fallen 
in  defense  of  American  liberty.  1 1.  May  the  husbandman's 
cottage  be  blessed  with  peace,  and  his  fields  with  plenty. 
12.  Vigor  and  virtue  to  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
America.  13.  May  the  New  World  be  the  last  asylum  of 
freedom  and  the  arts.  Among  the  speakers  who  responded 
to  the  sentiments  were  General  Sullivan  and  Colonel  Cil- 
ley.  This  is  the  first  recorded  celebration  of  the  4th  of 
July. 

On  July  27  General  Poor's  Brigade,  of  which  Cilley's 
regiment  was  a  part,  marched  down  to  Wyoming  and 
encamped  with  the  rest  of  the  army.  Four  days  were 
spent  there  in  getting  ready  to  begin  the  march  up  the 
river,  and  on  the  3ist  they  marched  ten  miles  to  Lacawa- 
neck.  August  i,  they  marched  seven  miles  to  Quiluta- 
mack  and  met  with  so  much  difficulty  in  passing  some 
large  mountains  that  ran  down  to  the  river,  that  the  rear 
of  the  army  did  not  come  up  with  the  advance  until  the 
next  morning,  for  which  reason  General  Poor's  brigade 
remained  in  camp  there  a  second  day;  then  they  contin- 
ued on  their  journey  about  12  miles  a  day,  till  Augustn, 
when  they  forded  the  river  and  marched  to  Tioga  Point, 
five  miles  and  there  encamped  on  the  point  between  the 
Seneca  and  Tioga  branches.  Now  they  had  reached  the 


44  GENERAL  JOSEPH    CILLEY 

Indian  country  and  began  to  put  everything  in  order  for  a 
fight.  They  had  cut  a  road  through  the  forests  about  175 
miles  from  Easton,  Penn.,  a  very  difficult  and  wearisome 
job. 

General  Sullivan  gave  orders,  toward  night  of  August 
12  for  the  army  to  march.  Poor's  regiment  left  Tioga  just 
after  sunset,  with  one  day's  provisions,  leaving  their  tents 
standing,  with  the  baggage  in  them;  a  few  men  were  left 
on  guard  who  were  least  able  to  work.  Cilley's  regiment, 
with  Poor's  brigade,  marched  all  night;  it  was  very  dark  and 
the  travelling  was  very  difficult.  Just  at  day  break,  on  the 
morning  of  August  13,  they  reached  Chemung,  a  small 
Indian  village,  14  miles  from  Tioga;  the  Indians  became 
alarmed  and  ran  away  before  the  army  could  surround  the 
settlement  and  capture  them  by  surprise,  as  General  Sulli- 
van had  planned  should  be  done.  They  had  previously 
removed  all  of  their  women  and  children,  leaving  only 
about  fifty  of  their  warriors  as  a  guard,  under  command  of 
Butler,  the  Tory  leader  and  Brant  the  head  man  of  the 
Five  Nation's  Warriors.  The  Indians  had  large  fields  of 
green  corn  about  there,  and  Colonel  Cilley's  men  with  the 
others,  gathered  a  lot  of  the  ears  for  roasting  purposes,  as 
they  were  quite  hungry,  after  their  hard  march  all  night. 
While  they  were  picking  off  the  ears  the  Indians,  in 
ambush,  attacked  them,  and  killed  one  or  two  men  and 
wounded  several  more.  Colonel  Cilley  promptly  rallied 
his  men  and  rushed  for  the  enemy,  who  fled  in  great  haste. 
The  army  then  set  to  work  and  burned  all  the  buildings  in 
the  village,  about  twenty,and  destroyed  all  of  the  cornfields 
and  other  garden  stuff,  cutting  and  throwing  it  into  heaps. 
In  the  afternoon  they  marched  back  to  Tioga,  having 
accomplished  a  very  fatiguing  amount  of  work  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  without  sleep.  They  had  destroyed  a  large 
amount  of  property,  but  so  far  as  Colonel  Cilley  observed 
his  men  had  killed  only  one  Indian  and  one  Tory. 

At  Tioga  they  rested  three  days,  waiting  for  General 
Clinton's  troops  from  Cherry  Valley.  August  15  a  party 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  45 

of  Indians  came  down  to  the  south  side  of  the  river,  oppo- 
site the  encampment,  and  fired  upon  some  of  Colonel  Cil- 
ley's  men,  who  were  tending  cattle.  They  killed  one  and 
wounded  another.  August  16  Colonel  Cilley's  regiment, 
with  General  Poor's  brigade,  marched  up  the  river  to  meet 
General  Clinton's  brigade,  which  had  come  over  from  the 
Mohawk  River.  They  were  piloted  by  some  friendly  Indi- 
ans for  quite  a  distance,  and  then  General  Poor  thought  it 
would  be  better,  and  more  expeditious,  to  send  three 
chosen  veterans  to  meet  General  Clinton  and  pilot  him 
to  meet  his  brigade.  The  three  men  chosen  for  this  pur- 
pose were  Sergeant  Joseph  Henderson,  Sergeant  Thomas 
Scott,  and  Peter  Stevens,  all  of  whom  belonged  to  the 
First  New  Hampshire  Regiment  commanded  by  Colonel 
Cilley. 

These  fearless  heroes,  with  only  three  days'  rations, 
set  out  on  their  hazardous  journey;  they  got  lost  in  the  for- 
ests and  did  not  meet  Clinton's  army,  but  after  wandering 
about  several  days  they  struck  the  track  of  Clinton's  army 
and  following  it  arrived  at  head  quarters,  after  having  been 
absent  a  dozen  days;  they  were  completely  exhausted 
Meanwhile  General  Poor's  and  General  Clinton's  brigades, 
succeeded  in  meeting,  and  the  combined  forces  arrived  at 
Tioga  August  22d. 

All  preparations  having  been  completed,  General 
Sullivan  gave  orders  to  march,  three  Indians  belonging  to 
theOneida  tribe  having  joined  the  army  to  assist  as  guides. 
The  army  advanced  into  the  Seneca  country,  leaving  a  gar- 
rison of  500  men  at  Tioga  point;  they  marched  four 
miles  that  day,  six  the  next,  four  on  the  third  and  four 
miles  on  the  fourth  day,  August  29,  when  the  advance 
guards  were  fired  upon  by  the  enemy  from  a  breastwork 
they  had  thrown  up,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length, 
extending  from  the  river  to  a  large  range  of  mountains, 
which  lay  parallel  with  the  river;  here  Sullivan's  army  halt- 
ed and  prepared  for  battle. 


46  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

That  march  from  Tioga,  through  the  inhospitable  wild- 
erness, was  in  the  following  manner:  A  hollow  square  was 
formed;  General  Hand's  brigade  in  front,  General  Poor's 
brigade  on  the  right;  General  Maxwell's  on  the  left,  and 
General  Clinton's  in  the  rear.  Within  the  hollow  square 
was  placed  Colonel  Procter's  regiment  of  artillery,  together 
with  the  horses  carrying  general  supplies,  also  the  beef 
cattle.  The  regiments  marched  in  platoons,  eight  deep, 
and  each  man  had  to  keep  his  place,  hence  the  march  was 
slow  and  fatiguing,  but  General  Sullivan  insisted  on  this 
order,  so  that  in  case  of  an  attack,  which  was  reasonable  to 
be  expected  at  any  time,  a  front  of  three  brigades  could  be 
speedily  formed. 

The  breastworks  of  the  Indians  were  made  deceptive 
by  being  covered  with  small  pines  stuck  into  the  ground. 
It  was  Sunday  morning,  August  29,  when  this  force  of  the 
enemy  was  discovered.  After  a  brief  consultation  of  the 
officers,  General  Sullivan  ordered  General  Poor's  brigade 
to  march  to  the  rear  of  the  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  the 
enemy  were  behind  their  breastworks;  the  brigade  marched 
around  about  three  miles  and  then  began  to  ascend  it;  as 
they  did  so  the  Indians,  concealed  behind  trees,  sent  forth 
the  most  hideous  yells,  which  echoed  from  the  opposite 
mountain  sides  as  though  the  woods  were  full  of  the  sav- 
age warriors,  at  the  same  time  they  fired  on  our  men. 
They  kept  up  their  war-whoops  and  shooting  as  our  sol- 
dieas  advanced,  returning  the  fire;  when  General  Poor's 
brigade  was  about  half  way  up  the  hill,  the  order  was 
given  to  charge  bayonets,  and  they  did  so  with  a  rush  and 
gave  the  American  yell,  which  sent  terror  into  the  enemy 
and  they  disappeared  as  fast  as  their  legs  could  carry  them, 
completely  deserting  the  breastworks  they  had  so  finely 
planned  and  constructed.  This  was  the  battle  of  Newton, 
of  which  General  Sullivan's  official  account  gives  minute 
details.  Colonel  Cilley  led  his  men  in  that  march  up  the 
hill,  and  was  active  in  the  execution  of  the  order  from 
beginning  to  end  of  the  encounter.  His  men  captured 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  47 

two  prisoners,  one  negro  and  one  a  white  man.  The  latter 
was  found  lying  on  his  face  and  pretending  to  be  dead; 
but  Colonel  Cilley  punched  him  a  bit,  and  he  proved  to  be 
very  much  alive.  His  face  was  blacked,  but  the  rest  of  his 
person  proved  to  be  white,  so  they  judged  him  to  be  a  Tory 
and  put  a  rope  around  his  neck  and  threatened  to  hang 
him;  but  the  threat  was  not  put  into  execution. 

They  remained  on  the  battle  ground  until  sunset, 
when,  no  enemy  being  in  sight,  they  returned  to  the  plain 
and  encamped,  and  sent  the  wounded  down  to  Tioga  in 
boats.  In  burying  the  dead,  they  burnt  brush  over  the 
graves,  so  that  the  Indians  might  not  distinguish  them 
from  the  places  where  the  camp  fires  had  been  burned. 

August  31  they  advanced  ten  miles,  and  the  next  day 
they  marched  13  miles  to  French  Katharine's,  where  they 
rested  a  day.  Before  they  started  on  this  march  up  around 
the  small  lakes,  General  Sullivan  had  told  them  they  would 
have  very  hard  work  and  short  rations,  and  those  who 
thought  they  were  unable  to  endure  it  would  be  permitted 
to  return  to  the  camp  at  Tioga.  Colonel  Cilley  drew  up 
his  regiment  in  line,  and  then  walked  from  right  to  left  of 
it,  looked  every  man  in  the  face,  gave  each  a  pleasant  word 
and  expressed  his  fears  that  some  could  not  endure  the 
march,  and  he  thought  it  would  be  better  for  them  to 
remain  behind  in  camp;  but  not  a  man  would  consent  to 
remain  behind.  Near  the  left  of  the  line,  Colonel  Cilley 
found  a  boy,  only  fifteen  years  old,  and  he  strongly  urged 
him  not  to  undertake  the  campaign.  The  boy  begged  to 
be  permitted  to  go  forward  with  the  regiment,  so  finally 
Colonel  Cilley  said:  Go  my  lad,  and  God  go  with  you" 
The  boy,  whose  name  was  Richard  Drout,  went  with  the 
regiment  and  came  out  all  right  at  the  end  of  the 
campaign . 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  that  campaign  day  by  day, 

to  show  what  Colonel  Cilley  and  his  regiment  did;  a  few 

incidents  will  be  given.     The  Indian  and  Tory  army  kept 

little  ahead  of  Sullivan's  advance,  and,  frequently  Col- 


48  GENERAL  JOSEPH   CILLEY 

onel  Cilley's  regiment  came  across  their  camp  fires,  where 
they  had  left  boiling  their  kettles  of  succotash,  which,  of 
course,  the  soldiers  found  very  acceptable,  and  disposed  of 
it  with  much  relish.  When  they  came  near  an  Indian  vil- 
lage, parties  were  always  sent  out  to  burn  the  huts  and  to 
destroy  their  corn.  Near  Geneva  lake  they  encamped  in  a 
very  large  apple  orchard,  hence  they  called  the  place 
Appleton.  There  they  caught  several  Indian  horses  by 
driving  them  into  the  lake,  where  expert  swimmers  caught 
them.  They  destroyed  that  orchard  completely. 

The  army  was  obliged  to  ford  Canandaigua  Lake,  a 
short  distance  from  its  outlet,  where  the  water  was  nearly 
up  to  the  men's  shoulders,  so  each  man  had  to  be  careful 
of  his  powder.  Both  sides  of  the  crossing  were  covered 
with  an  underbrush  of  grapevines  and  thorn  bushes,  which 
made  the  passage  very  difficult.  Colonel  Cilley's  regiment, 
being  in  front  of  the  right  wing,  was  ordered  to  ha  t  and 
to  see  that  all  guns  of  the  army  in  passing  were  well 
loaded  and  fresh  primed,  as  the  expectation  was  that 
the  enemy  would  attack  our  army  as  soon  as  the  men 
emerged  from  the  lake.  The  crossing  was  completed 
about  sunset. 

(  To  be  continued) 


General  3NepI)  CUlep 

BY  JOHN  SCALES,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

Conclusion  of  the  New  York  Campaign  Against 
the  Indians 

FTER  the  army  had  completed  the  crossing  of  Lake 
Candagua,  General  Sullivan  ordered  General  Hand 
to  go  with  four  regiments  and  capture  a  town  a 
mile  or  more  distant.  General  Hand  hesitated  and  began 
to  make  excuses.  He  thought  it  would  be  a  useless  waste 
of  lives;  it  would  be  dark  before  they  could  reach  the  vil- 
lage; in  the  dark  the  enemy  would  have  the  advantage  on 
all  sides  and  could  stampede,  or  completely  destroy  the  at- 
tacking force.  Colonel  Cilley  was  sitting  on  his  horse  lis- 
tening to  the  talk  between  Sullivan  and  Hand.  He  became 
impatient  at  the  hesitancy  and  delay;  he  straightened  him- 
self up  in  his  stirrups  and  exclaimed,  in  the  forceful  way  he 
had  of  saying  things:  "General  Sullivan!  give  me  leave  and 
I  will  take  the  town  with  my  regiment  alone!" 

The  general  looked  at  the  colonel  a  moment,  and  then 
gave  the  word,  "go!"  Colonel  Cilley's  bugle  call  was 
sounded  and  the  regiment  was  in  battle  array  for  marching, 
just  at  dusk;  before  the  men  got  halfway  there  it  was  so 
dark  that  each  soldier  was  obliged  to  take  hold  of  his  file 
leader  to  keep  in  line  and  not  get  lost;  thus  they  marched 
in  Indian  file  until  the  village  was  reached.  They  found 
the  place  deserted;  nothing  was  left  for  them  to  fight  ex- 
cept swarms  of  mosquitoes,  of  which  it  would  seem  there 
were  hundreds  attacking  each  man.  Under  these  condi- 
tions they  encamped  for  the  night,  which  they  spent  in 
fighting  mosquitoes  and  keeping  close  watch  that  the  wily 
enemy  should  not  return  upon  them  unprepared  to  defend 
themselves.  In  the  early  morning  they  burned  everything 

49 


50  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

that  was  combustible  in  the  village,  and  returned  to  the 
army,  where  Colonel  Cilley  received  the  thanks  of  General 
Sullivan. 

The  capital  of  the  Five  Nations  was  at  Big  Tree;  when 
Sullivan's  army  reached  there  Colonel  Cilley  and  his  regi- 
ment witnessed  the  last  scene  of  that  war  which  completely 
crushed  the  power  of  the  Five  Nations  and  the  Indians  who 
had  greatly  aided  the  British  since  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  The  town  contained  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  houses  and  wigwams.  When  all  was  ready 
General  Sullivan  gave  the  order  to  destroy  it,  in  every  part; 
make  so  much  a  desert  no  Indian  could  live  in  it.  So,  dur- 
ing one  day,  the  whole  army  of  more  than  four  thousand 
soldiers  were  busily  engaged  in  gathering  corn  from  the 
fields  and  storing  it  in  the  houses.  The  task  was  not  com- 
pleted until  about  noon  of  the  next  day,  as  the  crops  were 
immense.  The  soldiers  then  struck  their  tents  in  the  vil- 
lage, and  marched  out  a  short  distance  and  halted  on  a  hill 
which  overlooked  the  town,  from  which  they  witnessed  a 
scene  unsurpassed  in  that  war  of  eight  years. 

Soldiers  had  been  stationed  at  each  house,  with  torches. 
At  the  firing  of  a  signal  gun  every  house  was  set  on  fire, 
and  all  were  consumed  with  the  contents,  leaving  only  huge 
heaps  of  roasted  corn.  Colonel  Cilley  was  accustomed  to 
say,  in  after  years,  that  the  sight  of  so  many  buildings  on 
fire,  the  massy  clouds  of  black  smoke,  the  curling  pillars  of 
flame  bursting  through  them,  formed  the  most  awful  and 
sublime  spectacle  he  ever  witnessed.  Awful  as  it  were,  it 
was  trifling  in  comparison  with  the  inhuman  barbarities 
those  Indians  had  inflicted  on  American  citizens  during  the 
preceding  years  of  the  war. 

The  army  then  commenced  their  return  march  to  Tioga 
Point,  where  they  arrived  in  a  very  needy  condition  on  Sep- 
tember 30.  When  they  started  on  the  march  up  through 
the  Indian  country  they  left  the  principal  part  of  their 
clothing  at  the  fort,  by  general  order;  they  were  allowed  to 
carry  no  more  than  they  wore,  with  the  exception  of  one 


GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY  51 

spare  shirt.  The  suits  consisted  of  a  short  rifle  frock,  vest, 
shirt,  tow  trousers,  stockings,  shoes  and  blanket.  March- 
ing nearly  the  whole  time  in  the  woods,  among  thick  under- 
brush, their  whole  suit  became  fearfully  worn.  Many  of 
the  men  returned  barefooted,  and  became  very  footsore. 
Thus  in  rags  and  tatters  they  arrived  at  the  fort,  having 
completed  one  of  the  most  remarkable  campaigns  of  the 
Revolutionary  War. 

They  remained  at  Tioga  Point  until  October  ^  and  on 
that  day  marched  fourteen  miles  towards  Wyoming  (the 
modern  town  of  Wilkesbarre).  They  arrived  at  that  place 
October  7,  about  noon.  From  there  they  marched  to  Eas- 
ton  where  they  arrived  October  15,  and  encamped  near  the 
river.  There  they  received  the  report  of  the  committee 
appointed  by  General  Sullivan,  (of  which  Colonel  Cilley 
was  a  member),  to  estimate  the  quantity  of  corn  destroyed 
by  the  army,  that  belonged  to  the  Indians.  It  was  com- 
puted at  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  thousand  bushels. 
Whilst  there  they  were  ordered  to  attend  divine  service, 
under  arms,  in  a  large  meadow,  to  return  thanks  for  the 
signal  success  of  the  expedition,  and  the  unparalleled  health 
of  the  troops.  A  discourse  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Ira 
Evans  of  Concord,  N.  H. 

On  October  27  Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  commenced 
its  march  towards  North  River,  and  on  November  25  they 
arrived  at  its  south  bank  and  crossed  over  to  the  New  York 
side.  Then  they  kept  on  their  journey,  by  slow  marches, 
until  they  arrived  at  their  winter  quarters  in  Connecticut, 
at  a  place  about  half  way  between  Danbury  and  Newton. 
They  began  to  build  their  huts  December  3,  and  finished 
the  job  in  about  fifteen  days,  making  everything  very  com- 
fortable for  the  cold  winter  that  followed.  They  remained 
in  camp  there  until  April  6,  1780,  when  they  broke  camp 
and  marched  for  West  Point;  they  remained  there  until 
August  4.  It  is  worthy  of  note  here  that  Colonel  Cilley's 
son-in-law,  Col.  Thomas  Bartlett  of  Nottingham,  was  there 
at  West  Point  at  the  same  time  in  command  of  another 
New  Hampshire  regiment. 


52  GENERAL  JOSEPH   CILLEY 

Colonel  Cilley's  regiment  left  West  Point  August  4, 
and  after  crossing  the  river,  by  short  marches  each  day 
they  arrived,  August  8,  at  Tappan,  Orangetown,  where  the 
whole  army  encamped  and  remained  there  until  August  23, 
when  the  army  marched  down  to  Jenerich,  N.  J.,  opposite 
the  upper  end  of  Manhattan  Island.  September  17,  Gen- 
eral Washington  went  on  a  journey  to  Hartford,  Conn., 
and  left  the  command  of  the  army  to  Major  General  Greene. 
Three  days  later  General  Greene  moved  the  army  up  the 
river  to  Tappan  and  they  pitched  their  tents  on  the  old 
camping  ground. 

Five  days  later,  September  25,  they  were  apprised  of 
General  Arnold's  plot,  and  of  his  escape,  and  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Major  Andre.  Colonel  Cilley  with  his  regiment 
left  Tappan,  with  the  four  brigades,  October  6,  under  com- 
mand of  General  Greene,  and  marched  to  Haverstraw.  On 
October  8  Colonel  Cilley  encamped  his  regiment  on  Con- 
stitutional Island,  opposite  West  Point.  The  Second  New 
Hampshire  regiment  also  encamped  there.  October  25, 
1780,  they  crossed  the  river  and  marched  to  Soldiers  Fort- 
une, where  they  built  their  huts  and  encamped  for  the  win- 
ter, but  they  were  called  out  to  the  lines  many  times  by 
alarms  of  the  enemy,  so  had  a  rather  wide  awake  winter  of 
it  without  any  fighting.  The  winter  was  unusually  severe, 
and  the  soldiers  were  often  on  the  point  of  starvation,  and 
were  for  days  without  meat,  and  nearly  all  the  time  on  short 
allowance,  while  most  of  them  had  received  no  pay  for 
about  a  year.  As  for  clothing  they  were  often  so  destitute 
that  many  of  them  could  not  do  guard  duty  without  bor- 
rowing from  their  comrades,  while  for  shoes  they  were  still 
more  deficient,  and  parties  who  were  on  fatigue  duty  for 
firewood  and  forage  could  often  be  tracked  by  the  blood 
from  their  bruised  feet. 


General  3Nepi)  Cillep 

By  JOHN  SCALES,  A.  B.,  A.  M. 

His  Career  After  He  Left  Command  of  the 
First  Regiment 

COLONEL  CILLEY  ceased  to  be  commander  of  this 
famous  First  New  Hampshire  regiment  January  I, 
1781,  in  accordance  of  a  general  order  issued  by 
General  Washington,  dated  "Headquarters,  Totoway,  No- 
vember i,  1780,"  by  which  the  three  regiments  of  New 
Hampshire  were  reduced  to  two,  and  Alexander  Scammell 
was  appointed  Colonel  in  place  of  Cilley  whose  term  had 
expired,  he  having  been  in  command  of  it  since  April  2, 
1777,  a  period  of  three  years  and  nine  months.  Not  only 
that  but  his  real  service  in  the  army  began  in  June,  1775, 
making  nearly  five  years  and  a  half  of  service  in  behalf  of 
the  cause  of  his  country. 

That  his  State  was  not  unmindful  of  his  service  is  shown 
by  a  vote  ot  the  assembly,  March  16,  1779,  when  a  resolu- 
tion was  passed  unanimously  "that  the  worthy  Colonel 
Joseph  Cilley  be  presented  with  a  pair  of  pistols  as  a  token 
of  this  State's  good  intention  toward  merit  in  a  brave  offi- 
cer." Colonel  Cilley  carried  those  pistols  in  the  campaign 
against  the  Indians  in  New  York,  in  which  he  was  soon 
engaged.  They  are  now  in  possession  of  his  descendants, 
perhaps  in  Manchester. 

In  previous  notices  of  Colonel  Cilley's  military  career 
it  is  stated  that  "he  was  in  the  storming  of  Stony  Point." 
That  statement  is  incorrect,  because  that  battle  occurred 
on  July  1 6,  1779,  and  the  record  shows  that  Colonel  Cilley 
was  then  in  command  of  his  regiment,  in  General  Sullivan's 
army,  then  on  the  march  Against  the  Indians  in  New  York. 

53 


54  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

Before  giving  Col.  Cilley's  career  after  he  ceased  to  be 
colonel  of  the  First  Regiment,  it  seems  proper  to  sketch 
an  outline  of  the  closing  years  of  that  regiment  with 
which  he  was  long  connected.  The  final  discharge  of  its 
companies  occurred  on  June  22,  1784. 

Maj.  Asa  Bird  Gardner,  Professor  of  Law  in  the  West 
Point  U.  S.  Military  Academy,  who  prepared  a  Register 
of  the  American  Army  from  the  Peace  of  1783  to  1790, 
says :  "In  1779-80  New  Hampshire  had  as  her  quota  three 
'regular'  Continental  regiments  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States.  On  the  3d  and  21st  day  of  October,  Congress 
resolved  to  reorganize  and  consolidate  the  army,  to  take 
effect  January  1,  1781,  and  by  the  same  resolution  New 
Hampshire's  quota  was  reduced  to  two  regiments." 

Accordingly  on  January  1,  1781,  under  General  Wash- 
ington's general  order,  dated  Army  Headquarters,  Toto- 
way,  November  1,  1780,  the  three  regiments  of  New 
Hampshire  were  reduced  to  two,  and  Col.  Joseph  Cilley  of 
the  First  New  Hampshire  was  retired  and  succeeded  by 
Col.  Alexander  Scammell  of  the  Third  Regiment  whose 
officers  had  become  supernumerary  by  its  abolishment. 

In  like  manner,  by  resolutions  of  Congress,  another 
consolidation  took  place  January  1,  1783,  and  the  Second 
Regiment  was  disbanded  and  consolidated  into  the  ranks 
of  the  First. 

On  November  3,  1783,  all  of  the  Continental  Army 
was  disbanded,  except  such  as  General  Washington  especi- 
ally designated  to  remain  in  the  service.  The  First  New 
Hampshire  was  especially  honored  by  the  Commander-in- 
chief  and  it  took  part  in  the  ceremonies  in  New  York  at- 
tending the  evacuation  of  the  British  Army,  November  25, 
1783.  It  then  returned  to  duty  at  West  Point. 

The  last  official  act  of  General  Washington,  prior  to 
resigning  his  commission,  was  to  designate  what  troops 
should  be  retained  after  the  first  of  January,  1784.  Ac- 
cordingly Major-General  Knox,  in  General  Orders  dated 
Army  Headquarters,  West  Point,  December  23,  1783, 


GENERAL   JOSEPH   CILLEY  55 

designated  a  small  artillery  force  and  detachments  from  the 
Massachusetts  line,  together  with  Captain  Frye's  and  Cap- 
tain Potter's  companies  of  the  First  New  Hampshire,  to  re- 
main in  the  service. 

These  two  companies  and  the  Massachusetts  compa- 
nies were  organized  into  a  regiment  under  command  of 
Col.  Henry  Jackson,  constituting  the  Fourth  Massachu- 
setts Continental  Infantry.  Thus  the  First  New  Hamp- 
shire ceased  to  exist,  eo  nomine,  after  a  continuous  service 
of  eight  years  and  eight  months.  The  two  companies  re- 
mained in  the  service  five  months  longer,  until  June  22, 
1784,  when  they,  withthe  rest  of  the  army,  were  honora- 
bly discharged.  It  is  gratifying  to  every  son  and  daugh- 
ter of  New  Hampshire  tojjknow  that  the  First  Regiment, 
commanded  ^by  Stark  at  Bunker  Hill,  Cilley  at  Saratoga, 
and  Scammell  at  Yorktown,  received  the  distinction  of 
being  especially  designated  by  Washington  to  be  retained 
in  service  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  that  it  had  the  long- 
est continuous  service  of  any  regiment  in  the  Continental 
Army,  that  is  nine  years  and  one  month. 

After  Colonel  Cilley  left  the  army  he  entered  actively 
into  matters  of  town  and  state  and  took  a  hand  in  his  priv- 
ate business  affairs  which  had  been  managed  by  his  oldest 
son,  Bradbury,  and  his  very  able  and  accomplished  wife, 
Sarah  Longfellow,  daughter  of  Judge  Jonathan  Longfel- 
low, who  died  at  Machias,  Me.,  in  1774,  being  the  first  jus- 
tice to  hold  a  court  east  of  the  Kennebec  River.  The 
mother  and  son  had  managed  business  successfully,  and 
when  the  colonel  added  his  energy  to  theirs,  the  affairs  of 
the  farm  and  the  household  prospered  in  every  way.  After 
the  close  of  the  war  in  1783  the  militia  of  New  Hampshire 
was  organized  under  the  direction  of  Gen.  John  Sullivan, 
who  also  prepared  a  new  book  of  tactics  for  the  use  of  the 
state,  and  he  was  appointed  Major-General,  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  that  office  in  1785;  at  the  same  time  Colonel 
Cilley  was  appointed  Brigadier-General.  Also  he  was  ap- 
pointed Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Quorum  for  Rockingham 


56  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

County ;  later,  his  authority  was  extended  throughout  the 
state,  and  he  continued  to  hold  the  office  to  the  end  of  life. 

When  General  Sullivan  became  President  of  the  state 
in  1786  he  appointed  his  old  friend  and  compatriot,  Colonel 
Cilley,  Major-General,  and  at  the  same  time  appointed 
Col.  Thomas  Bartlett,  son-in-law  to  Col.  Cilley,  Brigadier- 
General.  They  held  those  offices  continuously  until  the 
close  of  1792,  when  Cilley  declined  to  serve  longer  and 
Bartlett  was  promoted  to  be  Major-General  and  held  the 
office  by  reappointments  until  the  end  of  the  century. 
Both  had  been  very  active  and  efficient  in  the  Revolution  ; 
they  were  equally  as  active  and  efficient  in  organizing  and 
managing  state  affairs  in  the  remaining  years  of  the  cen- 
tury. 

At  the  Presidential  election  in  1788  General  Cilley,  as 
he  was  then  everywhere  known,  was  candidate  for  elector 
and  received  528  votes  ;  there  were  ten  candidates ;  the 
state  was  entitled  to  six  electors,  and  as  his  was  next  to 
the  lowest  vote  cast  he  failed  to  be  elected.  In  1789  he 
was  candidate  for  state  Senator,  but  failed  of  election. 
He  was  candidate  again  the  next  year  and  was  elected  and 
served  from  June  2,  1790,  to  June  2,  1791.  As  a  member 
of  the  General  Court  he  took  an  active  and  influential  part. 
He  was  in  favor  of  honest  dealing  and  against  trickery  and 
claptrap  legislation,  every  time  a  vote  was  taken  on  any 
question.  During  his  term  of  service  as  Senator  steps 
were  taken  to  organize  academies  in  various  towns  of  the 
state,  one  of  which  was  Atkinson.  In  the  petitions  asking 
for  charters  there  was  always  a  section  asking  permission 
to  raise  ;£1000  by  lottery  for  the  benefit  of  the  institutions. 
General  Cilley  opposed  the  lottery  schemes,  as  dishonest 
dealing,  and  voted  nay  when  the  question  was  decided.  It 
was  a  sample  of  how  he  voted  on  other  questions.  In  the 
June  session  of  the  General  Court  of  1792  he  was  Repre- 
sentative for  his  town  and  served  on  important  committees. 
In  the  November  election  of  1792  he  was  again  candidate 
for  presidential  elector,  but  failed  to  be  elected,  being  sev- 
enth on  the  list,  and  only  six  could  be  elected. 


GENERAL   JOSEPH   CILLEY  57 

When  political  parties  began  to  evolve  under  Wash- 
ington's second  administration,  and  the  people  began  to 
line  up  under  the  leadership  of  Jefferson  and  Hamilton, 
General  Cilley  endorsed  the  former,  and,  as  time  went  on, 
he  became  a  very  staunch  anti-Federalist.  He  strenuously 
opposed  some  of  the  measures  advocated  by  Washington, 
although  he  greatly  admired  him  as  a  military  chieftain, 
and  they  were  most  cordial  friends  to  the  end  of  life,  both 
dying  in  the  same  year,  Cilley  in  August  and  Washington 
in  December.  When  John  Adams  came  into  the  Presi- 
dential office  General  Cilley  became  still  more  radical  in 
his  political  views,  and  was  fierce  in  his  opposition  to 
Adams.  As  regarded  the  French  Revolution  he  always 
took  sides  with  the  Revolutionists.  Being  a  personal 
friend  and  admirer  of  General  Lafayette  he  hoped  the 
Revolutionists  would  win,  but  nothing  would  arouse  his 
temper  quicker  than  to  call  him  a  member  of  the  "French 
Party."  With  the  most  haughty  disdain  he  disclaimed  en- 
tertaining foreign  ideas  and  "entangling  alliances."  It 
was  said  that  in  securing  appointments  to  office  he  did  not 
always  favor  the  candidates  of  his  own  party  ;  if  he  thought 
his  party  man  was  not  so  well  qualified  for  the  place  as  the 
opposing  candidate  he  would  favor  the  latter.  Moreover 
he  had  his  strong  likes  and  dislikes ;  if  he  did  not  like  a 
man  he  was  pretty  sure  to  think  him  unfit  for  office. 

General  Cilley  was  a  man  of  great  business  capacity ; 
he  had  wide  experience,  good  judgment  and  keen  insight, 
which  produced  good  results.  He  had  a  strong  attach- 
ment for  property,  but  would  not  tolerate  or  participate  in 
dishonest  dealings  to  acquire  it,  nor  oppress  the  poor. 
His  eldest  son  Bradbury  had  served  on  his  father's  staff, 
and  was  known  as  Major  Cilley.  The  father  and  son  al- 
ways worked  together  harmoniously  in  business,  so  that 
the  two  came  to  be  among  the  most  prominent  and  pros- 
perous business  men  of  Rockingham  County,  and  they 
accumulated  much  wealth.  At  his  death  he  left  his  sons 
well  settled  in  business  and  a  very  valuable  estate  for  his 
family. 


58  GENERAL   JOSEPH    CILLEY 

With  General  Sullivan  he  was  leader  in  organizing  the 
Order  of  Cincinnati  in  New  Hampshire,  at  Exeter,  in  No- 
vember, 1783.  He  was  elected  its  treasurer;  in  July,  1784, 
he  was  elected  vice-president ;  later  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent and  he  kept  a  deep  interest  in  the  order  as  long  as  he 
lived.  His  great  grandson,  Gen.  Jonathan  Prince  Cilley, 
of  Maine,  is  his  successor  in  that  society  now  (1911.) 

General  Cilley  was  a  man  of  strong  passions,  but  he 
always  kept  them  under  control  and  would  not  knowingly 
deal  unjustly  with  his  neighbors  or  his  opponents  any- 
where. His  manners  were  not  those  of  a  courtier,  but 
having  walked  in  the  highest  society  of  the  land,  he  did  not 
despise  good  breeding  and  the  proper  rules  and  fashions  of 
the  period.  He  did  not  try  to  please  everybody  so,  of 
course,  not  every  one  liked  him,  although  all  admired  his 
brilliant  career  and  invaluable  services  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army.  There  were  grand  social  gatherings  at  the  Cilley 
residence  on  Nottingham  Square,  from  time  to  time.  In 
military  affairs  he  was  very  strict  in  enforcing  discipline 
and  in  demanding  for  rank  all  that  properly  pertained  to 
it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  common  sort  of  fellows  experi- 
enced a  feeling  of  great  awe  when  in  the  presence  of  the 
General.  In  the  performance  of  all  important  functions 
he  was  a  strict  observer  of  what  the  rules  of  etiquette  de- 
manded. As  regards  religious  matters  he  was  not  much 
of  a  churchman.  He  was  decidedly  liberal  in  his  views  at 
a  time  when  it  required  genuine  courage  to  stand  up  in 
opposition  to  the  standard  creeds  of  the  period.  He  was  a 
man  of  temperate  habits,  not  given  to  high  living,  so  that 
his  religion  consisted  in  the  practice  of  moral  and  social 
virtues  as  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament. 

General  Cilley's  last  official  position  was  that  of  Coun- 
cillor, which  office  he  held  in  1797  and  1798.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  efficient  members  of  the  Governor's  advisers. 
As  an  example  of  his  courage  and  quickness  of  action  take 
the  incident  of  quelling  an  insurrection  of  two  hundred 
armed  men,  who  attempted  to  overawe  the  Legislature 
when  it  was  in  session  at  Exeter  in  1786.  He  was  Major- 


GENERAL   JOSEPH   C1LLEY  59 

General  then ;  he  not  only  speedily  gathered  troops  who 
routed  the  insurgents  and  took  thirty  of  them  prisoners, 
but  he,  personally,  seized  and  arrested  the  leader  and 
marched  him  off  to  prison. 

General  Cilley  was  a  man  of  fine  personal  appearance  J 
about  five  feet  nine  inches  in  height ;  somewhat  corpulent 
in  his  later  years  ;  he  had  a  well  shaped  head,  bright,  spark- 
ling black  eyes,  and  a  clear  sounding,  far  reaching  voice, 
which  always  commanded  attention  when  he  spoke;  he 
was  a  good  and  rapid  speaker,  but  made  no  pretensions  to 
oratory  ;  his  ideas  were  always  clear  cut  and  well  expressed, 
showing  that  he  understood  what  he  was  talking  about,  and 
he  rarely  failed  to  make  his  hearers  understand  it  as  he  did. 

General  Cilley  died  in  August,  1799,  after  a  brief  ill- 
ness, which  was,  no  doubt,  the  disease  now  known  as  ap- 
pendicitis ;  the  doctors  then  called  it  colic.  The  report 
says  he  rode  about  thirty  miles,  (on  horseback)  into  the 
country,  on  a  hot  day,  in  the  middle  of  August,  to  transact 
some  important  business,  and  was  taken  ill  soon  after  his 
arrival  there ;  everything  was  done  for  him  that  medical  aid 
could  do,  and  he  was  taken  home  in  a  carriage  as  speedily 
as  possible.  The  report  says  that  a  day  or  two  after  his 
arrival  there  "sphacelation  (mortification)  seized  his  bow- 
els ;  he  bore  his  pains  with  great  fortitude,  and  died  with  a 
calm  and  composed  mind."  The  precise  date  of  his  death 
is  not  stated,  but  it  was  during  the  last  of  August,  1799. 

General  Cilley  became  a  Free  and  Accepted  Mason  in 
St.  John's  Lodge,  Portsmouth,  soon  after  he  left  the  army. 
At  his  funeral  the  Masonic  burial  service  was  performed 
by  the  officers  of  that  lodge.  There  was  also  a  large 
gathering  of  military  officers  who  had  served  with  him  and 
under  him,  not  only  in  the  militia  of  the  state,  where  he 
had  been  Major-General,  but  also  a  good  number  of  his  old 
comrades  who  had  served  with  him  in  the  First  New 
Hampshire  Regiment  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  The 
whole  made  one  of  the  grandest  funerals  ever  witnessed  in 
Nottingham,  or  Rockingham  County.  His  remains  were 
interred  in  the  burial  ground  near  the  family  residence. 


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